BlackBerry maker Research in Motion's (RIM) founder Mike Lazaridis abruptly wrapped up a television interview after being questioned about security concerns in India and the Middle East.
Replying to a question about security concerns BlackBerry is facing in India and the Middle East, Lazaridis asserted that "first of all, we have no security problem. We have just been singled out... because we have been so successful around the world. It is used by businesses, leaders, celebrities, consumers, teenagers".
Lazaridis is also RIM's President and Co-CEO.
While appearing in an interview on BBC, he said the whole question about the security concern was "unfair" and the company was being singled out.
Asked again about the concerns and whether the issue is being sorted out, Lazaridis said, "We are dealing with so many issues. We are trying our best to deal with the expectations...."
Upset by the questions repeatedly, he abruptly finished the interview and said "Interview was over".
BlackBerry has been facing security concerns in India, with the Ministry of Home Affairs asking telecom operators to either provide monitoring facility to enforcement agencies or stop offering services.
With nearly a million BlackBerry subscribers, India is emerging as one of the fastest growing markets for Canada-based RIM.
The company has been maintaining that it was an industry issue and it should not be singled out. Like BlackBerry, other Internet-based services such as Gmail and Skype too were offering similar technology platforms.
The government had, however, said the company need to place its server in India to ensure that security agencies get access to the BlackBerry Enterprise Mail services.
According to sources, the government has banned other such services like Nokia push mail and has asked the operators not to offer the service till a proper monitoring system was put in place.
