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Not an accusation. There was media coverage of Rajiv Gandhi's 'Blue Lagoon' holiday. INS Virat was indeed used, as were naval helicopters. India Today carried a lavishly illustrated story. indiatoday.in/magazine/india…
Excerpts from Anita Pratap's report on Rajiv Gandhi's 'Blue Lagoon Holiday' (Lakshadweep) published in @IndiaToday issue dated January 31, 1988: 
I am sure @tavleen_singh would be able to tell a lot more. What I do remember is HY Sharada Prasad, then media advisor to Rajiv Gandhi, calling up CR Irani and 'expressing the hope' (Irani's words) that 'your irascible Assistant Editor (me) will not be writing about this'.
There's a background story to that call from Sharada Prasad. @swapan55 helped me on that occasion and I am forever grateful to him as well as CR Irani. I will tell the background story when I write my autobiography😎
Laughable. @IndiaToday was the largest selling magazine in 1988. It carried a detailed report on Rajiv Gandhi's 'Blue Lagoon Holiday' in Lakshadweep. It mentioned specifics of his using INS Virat. None of the admirals denying it now denied the story then. Integrity?
That it took 31 years for these admirals to come up with a cock-and-bull benign version at variance with what star journalist Anita Pratap reported for @IndiaToday in January 1988 tells a sad and sorry tale. These same worthies hold forth against 'politicisation of forces'. Heh!
