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Vajpayee refuses to let Musharraf off the hook

Taken by surprise by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's surprise handshake, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee decided to deviate from his written speech and turn the tables on Pakistan.

To rub it in, the prime minister clearly ignored President Musharraf at the end of the morning session even as the heads of state greeted each other before retiring for lunch.

Earlier, following the surprise handshake, the prime minister went backstage and was joined by his principal advisor Brajesh Mishra and later by External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh.

It was at this crucial confabulation that a sharp edge was added to the already-prepared speech, which had already been distributed to the audience.

As it turned out, the prime minister's speech was short but hard-hitting and straight to the point.

The results were clearly visible on President Musharraf's face.

As Vajpayee deviated from the pre-written speech and took on Musharraf, the military ruler kept staring at Vajpayee with a stern look on his flushed face.

Video cameras focused on Musharraf's face vividly captured the anger and shock on his reddened face.

At the end of the morning session, the heads of state mingled before retiring for lunch. Even as he made small talk with others, the prime minister pointedly ignored President Musharraf leaving the latter in no doubt about the fate of his ambush - the surprise handshake.

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