WIKI LEAKS CABLES: US CONSUL GENERAL MEETS GUJARAT CHIEF MINISTER MODI 27th NOVEMBER 2006 Summary: The US Consul General finds (with corroboration by two Congress leaders) that “Modis reputation for being completely incorruptible is accurate”, and “his accomplishments in Gujarat are undeniable”. A longtime former Congress party MP and former Minister of Environment Yuvraj Digvijay Sinhji (also the scion of the princely Wankaner family and a Cambridge grad) believes that Modi would not be able to rise to the national level due to two main factors. First, he lacks the polish and refinement to become a national leader. Second, since he is completely incorruptible, the corrupt rank and file at the BJP national level would find his move to the centre unappealing and would be an insurmountable hurdle. ----- So if you haven’t see this till now, I urge you to take a look. Like many of us, till now I was a sceptical beleiver in Modi. I always felt I was choosing the lesser evil out of the available options. But after reading this Cable, my conviction has increased manifold. It seems Modi is not just the ‘least worst’ option before us, but in all likelihood the ‘best’ one. ----- The link to the entire cable is here: https://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/11/06MUMBAI2027.html Some interesting excerpts (points 13, 14, 15, 16) are below: – I found point 14 most interesting. 13. (C) Rajkot Congress party leader Manoharsinh Jadeja said Modis accomplishments are undeniable, and admitted that the Congress would make little headway against the BJP in Gujarat anytime soon. Modi is extremely popular, Jadeja said, and even Muslims are now supporting him to some extent because he is viewed as someone who is completely incorruptible and can deliver the goods. Consul General asked if Modi could become a national BJP leader, and Jadeja said he hoped so because as as he was the CM in Gujarat, Congress would face a tough challenge. 14. (C) Consul General met at length with longtime former Congress party MP and former Minister of Environment Yuraj Digvijay Sinhji. Asked whether Modi could become a national leader, Sinhji (himself the scion of the princely Wankaner family and a Cambridge grad) sniffed that Modi lacks the polish and refinement to become a national leader. But Sinhji raised another reason why Modi could face challenges in becoming a national leader: Modis reputation for being completely incorruptible is accurate, and if he were to become a national leader he would crack down on corruption throughout the BJP. There are too many BJP rank and file waiting to line their pockets once the BJP returns to power, Sinhji said, and the prospect of Modi cracking the whip on corruption is entirely unappealing to this crowd. Modi would have a hard time clearing this hurdle, according to Sinhji. 15. (C) Sinhji raised an interesting point on communal harmony in Gujarat. The fact that Modi clearly has aspirations for national leadership makes him, ironically, one of the greatest protectors of communal harmony at this stage. Modi knows that another outbreak like 2002 would doom his chances, so he is going to be particularly zealous to ensure there are no further problems on his watch. Sinhji thought it unlikely that anyone would ever be brought to book for the 2002 violence as long as the BJP controls the Gujarat Government, but at the same time he expected communal harmony to improve as the GOG keeps a careful eye out to ensure there are no further provocations or violence. 16. (C) Comment: Modi is clearly not going to apologize or back down on the violence of 2002, but we think it is vital for him to hear that we are not going to let the passage of time erase the memory of these events. Depite the chilly atmosphere of the meeting, Modi did take on board the message that human rights and religious freedom are important issues that we will continue to monitor carefully. We believe Sinhjis comments on Modi are indeed accurate: ironically the man most hold accountable for the communal violence of 2002 may now be the most ardent defender of communal harmony, at least on the surface. It remains to be seen to what extent Gujarats economic boom will lead to genuinely improved communal relations over time. End Comment. ----------- One last minor point: Some of the highly sceptical amongst us might say – “So what. These are opinions only”. Yes, I completely agree but at least these opinions are frank and honest unlike the biased posturing or doctored reports that we find on conventional media.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 19:37:52 +0000
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