After snubbing Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi for his role in the 2002 riots, American diplomats began to worry about their country's interests in the event of his assuming a role in national politics.
A cable accessed by WikiLeaks and published in Tuesday's edition of The Hindu says, “If Modi does eventually get a national leadership role in the BJP in the foreseeable future, the USG [United States Government] will be obliged to decide how it wants to deal with a figure of national prominence whose B1/B2 we revoked. We believe it would dilute our influence to avoid Modi completely."
The US had decided it wouldn't deal with Modi at an ambassadorial level, after it had refused him a visa on the grounds that he was involved in a communal pogrom, but frequently sent lower-level officials to meet him in Ahmedabad.
Michael S Owen, consul-general in Mumbai, sent a cable in 2006 detailing his assessment of Modi to Washington. He writes that many within the BJP were convinced Modi was the only leader who could rejuvenate the party.
Owen documented what he saw as contradictions between the private Modi and the public Modi. His cable says: “In public appearances,
Modi can be charming and likeable. By all accounts, however, he is an insular, distrustful person who rules with a small group of advisors. This inner circle acts as a buffer between the Chief Minister and his cabinet and party. He reigns more by fear and intimidation than by inclusiveness and consensus, and is rude, condescending and often derogatory to even high level party officials. He hoards power and often leaves his ministers in the cold when making decisions that affect their portfolios.”
Owen was chastised by Modi during a 2006 meeting that turned frosty, the cables reveal. According to The Hindu, when Owen raised the subject of no one being brought to book for the Godhra riots, Modi was annoyed, and replied with a lecture on "horrific human rights violations" in the US. When the chief minister spoke of American torture at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, Owen said wrongdoers there had been brought to book, while no one had been arrested in Gujarat four years after the carnage that claimed 1044 lives. The argument continued, and Owens wrote to Washington that he found Modi in no mood to back down.
No comments:
Post a Comment