Quote misquote

Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh caused a huge flutter when a note he wrote to the prime minister was leaked to the press — the note spoke of how India needed to take on some internal targets for emission reduction in the run up to Copenhagen. At a public forum with Lord Nicholas Stern talking about global warming, most expected Ramesh to hold forth on the topic.

Ramesh, however, chose to excuse himself, saying he had both spoken and not spoken enough on the matter — not spoken since, he said, lots of words had been put in his mouth. As for his unspoken words, Ramesh was philosophical and said these things happened in public life.