New York, Oct 21 : Author Salman Rushdie has hit back at ex-girlfriend Pia Glenn after she said he was ‘dysfunctional’ and still pines for ex-wife Padma Lakshmi.

An infuriated Rushdie has branded Glenn as a "large, radioactive bucket of stress."

The pair dated for nearly six months before he dumped Glenn by e-mail in June.

"The reason I broke up with Pia Glenn is that I came to feel that she''''s an unstable person who carries around a large, radioactive bucket of stress wherever she goes. It was just exhausting to deal with,” the New York Post quoted him as saying.

"Her recent explosions . . . demonstrate that she is also an accomplished liar.

"It is hard even to list the untruths in her article. We never lived together -- she lived at her father''''s home in Freeport, LI. We never agreed to have children together. Our relationship lasted five and a half months, so it''''s hard to see how I ''''stole a year'''' of her life.

"What most distresses me, however, is her statement that I am still ''''obsessed'''' with my ex-wife, Padma Lakshmi.

“When my marriage to Padma ended I was saddened and hurt, that''''s true, but that was two and a half years ago, and, like any adult, I have accepted the world as it is.

"As any of my friends can attest, I long ago turned the page and moved on,” he added. (ANI)