2011-03-18 Hillary Clinton Warned India in December of 'Potentially Embarrassing Disclosures' from #WikiLeaks Cables

India cables released to The Hindu have created a storm in the past days. Now, The Hindu reports that the US State Department warned the India government of the “existence of such communications on December 23, 2010. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and spoke to Krishna about WikiLeaks. She warned the government of “potentially embarrassing disclosures.”

On December 21, 2010, then-State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said, “Those mutual interests are unchanged by any document that has been released by WikiLeaks. We are going to do this one day at a time, one action at a time. The Secretary continues to have regular contacts either in person or in phone calls with world leaders. This issue comes up, and without exception, the leaders reassure her that notwithstanding whatever ripples have been created by these revelations, our relations with these countries will continue because they're important.”

The key cable creating a massive political crisis in India was sent out from Consulate Chennai on May 13, 2009. A US diplomat writes:

The subject of politicians bribing voters, with either cash or gifts, was a recurring theme in the course of covering the 2009 election campaigns in South India. Wherever we went, journalists, politicians, and voters spoke of the bribes as a commonly accepted fact of the election process. Political insiders, and in some instances candidates themselves, admitted to us that candidates regularly violate India's election rules in the course of campaigning for office. This cable examines methods by which political parties bribe voters and how those bribes affect elections in India.

The diplomat reports that in slums in Chennai and Hyderabad poor urban voters expect political parties to pay “come election time.” The two main political parties in Tamil Nadu, the DMK and AIADMK, are described as having a “sophisticated political operation used to distribute cash.”

According to an NGO representative, in the weeks before the elections, "agents of the parties come to the neighborhood with cash carried in rice sacks. They have copies of the voter lists and they distribute the money based on who is on the list." The agents come in the middle of the night, "between two and four in the morning, when the Election Commission is asleep." A neighborhood resident confirmed this version of events, noting that in the 2004 election each family got 500 rupees for their vote. (Note: The residents of this slum reported that they earned around 4000 rupees a month working as day laborers. End note.) In a Hyderabad slum voters we talked with three weeks before voting told us that they were expecting candidates' representatives to pay them a visit soon. "We'll see what they offer, and then we'll decide," said one man who spoke for the group.

It’s important to understand what is responsible for the crisis so far isn’t just the details on “cash-for-votes” scams. Rather, it is the candid admittance by a parliament member to a US diplomat that he bribes his constituents:

Assaduddin Owaisi, a sitting Member of Parliament and leader of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) party, was surprisingly candid. Owaisi explained to us the ins-and-outs of campaigning over a late dinner after spending a long day on the trail. He said that during the campaign he tries to cover every street in his urban constituency in Hyderabad's Old City, visiting people at their homes and businesses. As he walks the neighborhood, he said, people regularly appeal to him for small favors. One community's leaders asked Owaisi that day to dig them a well. "So I sent one of my party men back later in the day,"" he explained, "to give them 25,000 rupees (approximately 500 USD)." Owaisi emphasized that he does not give cash directly to voters, but rather funds worthy requests: "If they want a well, I give them the money, but make sure they use it for the well." On the same day, he also told us that he had paid 35,000 rupees (700 USD) to pay for the marriage of an orphaned girl. Owaisi contrasted his practice of funding projects for the community's benefit with the Congress and Telugu Desam parties, which Owaisi said pay money to individual voters.

We asked Owaisi point blank whether it was against the law for him to pay for the well and the marriage. Owaisi laughed and said, "Of course, but that's the great thing about democracy." He went on to describe the legal spending limit of 2.5 million rupees (50,000 USD) as ""a joke,"" noting that he would spend 2.5 million rupees on "polling day alone."

The contents of the cable has renewed deliberation on a specific instance of corruption that had long been swept under a rug. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Friday, according to Sify.com, served a notice “notice for a discussion on Tuesday on the WikiLeaks expose on alleged pay-offs to MPs to win a parliamentary trust vote in 2008.”

“The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA has been fuming over the presiding officers of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya not permitting them to seek clarifications Friday from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,” reports Sify.com. His identical statements denying the allegations of payoffs make re-opening debate on corruption urgent.

In the past twenty fours, the Hindustan Times reports “the Opposition” has “launched a no-holds-barred attack on the government by stalling proceedings in both Houses.” They have asked Singh to quit.

Singh says the Government of India “cannot confirm the veracity, contents or even the existence of such communications. I may point out that many of the persons referred to in those reports have stoutly denied the veracity of the contents.” He references a vote in July 2008 on the allegations of bribery in the election and contends that vote in the Committee constituted by the Lok Sabha determined “there was insufficient evidence to draw any conclusion of bribery.”

It should be noted that nowhere in the cable does the diplomat appear to question the corruption or the nature of the bribery schemes. Like a spectator watching a game of cricket unfold, the diplomat recounts what has been found on bribery and corruption in India. Not even in the comment section of the cable does the diplomat make a moral judgment on the situation.

The US has not escaped scrutiny in this political crisis at all. Another India cable shows Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asking many questions about the nature of the UPA government in India.

On Pranab Mukherjee, the then-newly appointed Minister of Finance:

WHAT ARE MUKHERJEE'S PRIMARY ECONOMIC CONCERNS AND HIS VIEWS ON PRIME MINISTER SINGH'S ECONOMIC REFORM AGENDA? HOW QUICKLY DOES HE PLAN TO PURSUE THESE REFORMS? WHAT IS HIS ABILITY TO ENACT REFORMS?

On Anand Sharma, the then-newly appointed Minister of Commerce and Industry:

HOW DOES SHARMA VIEW US-INDIA ECONOMIC RELATIONS?

HOW DOES SHARMA VIEW INDIA'S CURRENT FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT (FDI) GUIDELINES? WHICH SECTORS DOES HE PLAN TO OPEN FURTHER? WHY IS HE RELUCTANT TO OPEN MULTI-BRAND RETAIL? WHAT ARE HIS VIEWS ON THE SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES?

WHY WAS SHARMA CHOSEN FOR THE JOB? WHAT ARE HIS LARGER AMBITIONS? WHY WAS NATH MOVED TO THE ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS PORTFOLIO? WHAT ARE NATH'S VIEWS ON THE CHANGE?

The amount of information the State Department want to know raises questions about the level of US involvement or interference in India's government.

The “International Edition” of Newsweek reported on March 16, 2009 on rampant corruption in India’s Parliament. The story detailed how parties in India have used “allies” to influence voters and how it was getting much more apparent how many members of the Lok Sakhba were crooks. The “cash-for-votes” scam was also mentioned.
Indian members of Parliament went home last week amid hoots and howls, derided as the sorriest lot ever to disgrace the halls of the world's largest democracy. The 14th Lok Sabha, or People's House, met for only 46 days in the past year--the fewest ever--because of disruptions caused by its many dubious members. One in 10 members didn't participate in a single debate. Eleven M.P.s were expelled for taking bribes. The coal minister was compelled to step down when he was convicted of murder (though he was later acquitted on appeal). And when the opposition called for a confidence vote, several members had to be transported to the People's House from the big house--where two of them are serving life sentences for murder--to participate. As the legislators adjourned last week, House Speaker Somnath Chatterjee wished them good riddance: "You do not deserve one paisa [cent] of public money," he scolded. "I hope all of you are defeated in the next election."

Given that assessment in Newsweek from 2009, it’s not all that surprising to read about how a “cash-for-votes” scam. It’s also not surprising that the corruption in India remains prevalent and intrinsic to government operations.