The recently published article “India in no rush to do trade deal with post-Brexit Britain,” which was based on an interview with High Commissioner of India Yashvardhan Sinha, misrepresented several facts.
The article’s headline implies Sinha said India is in no rush to seal a trade agreement with the U.K. after Brexit. I want to clarify that his remarks were made in response to a specific question. He was asked whether India was in a rush to do the deal or would want to make sure that it got the right deal. He replied that he doesn’t think India is in a rush and that both India and the U.K. would like to get the best deal possible.
The article also suggested that the high commissioner made a comparison between a prospective trade deal with the U.K. and a deal with the EU. I would like to point out that at no time during the interview did the high commissioner express any preference for one deal over the other or make any comparison between the two prospective trade deals. Saying otherwise is not only unnecessary but also extremely misleading.
By selectively picking phrases out of context, the article distorted the high commissioner’s words have been distorted and gave the interview a twist that was not based on what was in fact said.
Dr. Aseem Vohra
Second secretary, High Commission of India
London, U.K.