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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 NEW DELHI 000342 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/22/2017 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PREF PINR PTER KDEM IN PK BT
BG, NP, CE 
SUBJECT: BJP DOWNPLAYS IMPORTANCE OF FOREIGN POLICY 
BRIEFING - OPPOSES UPA INITIATIVES 
 
REF: NEW DELHI 210 
 
Classified By: PolMinCouns Ted Osius for reasons 1.4 (B,D) 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary:  The UPA's January 3 luncheon meeting with 
the BJP leadership proved to be largely a flash in the pan. 
Subsequent events and statements by BJP insiders confirm that 
little of substance took place at the meeting, which 
consisted primarily of a briefing by Minister of External 
Affairs Pranab Mukherjee.  Within two weeks of the meeting, 
the BJP reverted to form, issuing a scathing denunciation of 
Mukherjee's January 13/14 visit to Islamabad, and asserting 
that Mukherjee's "silence" on terrorism had "shocked the 
nation."  Privately, one BJP spokesman has asserted to us 
that Kashmir is off the table as far as his party is 
concerned, and that only the status of "Pakistan Occupied 
Kashmir" is subject to negotiation.  The luncheon meeting had 
spurred speculation that perhaps the Prime Minister hoped to 
enlist the BJP into a dramatic attempt to move forward on 
Kashmir, based on Pervez Musharraf's recent proposals, but 
the BJP has demonstrated once again that it is perfectly 
content with the status quo and is not interested in any 
softening of its harsh stance on India/Pakistan relations. 
End Summary. 
 
The PM Invites the BJP to Lunch 
------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) Former Prime Minister AB Vajpayee has complained 
often to the current PM, Manmohan Singh, that the UPA 
government is not taking the opposition into confidence.  PM 
Singh moved to break the ice, first attending Vajpayee's 82nd 
birthday celebration, and then inviting the BJP leadership 
for lunch.  On January 2, Vajpayee, accompanied by opposition 
leader LK Advani, former Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh and 
former NSA Brajesh Mishra, had lunch with the Prime Minister 
at his residence and listened to a briefing on foreign policy 
presented by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee. 
Also present were NSA MK Narayanan and Foreign Secretary Shiv 
Shankar Menon. 
 
¶3.  (U) Although the BJP had little to say publicly about the 
lunch, press reports indicated that FM Mukherjee presented a 
briefing on UPA policy in the South Asia region, to include 
Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan.  Although 
PM Singh purportedly asked the BJP leaders to share their 
ideas on regional issues, they were purportedly not very 
forthcoming, with one report stating that "it was mostly a 
one-way affair."  The meeting fostered considerable 
speculation in the press as to whether the UPA leaders urged 
the BJP to be more open-minded regarding recent proposals to 
solve the Kashmir dispute put forth by General Musharraf. 
US/India relations were not mentioned. 
 
BJP Reverts to Form 
------------------- 
 
¶4.  (U) On January 15, the BJP issued a scathing denunciation 
of FM Mukherjee's January 13-14 visit to Pakistan.  Party 
spokesman Ravishankar Prasad caustically noted that, "the 
silence of Mukherjee on terrorism, wrecking havoc against 
 
NEW DELHI 00000342  002 OF 004 
 
 
India, has left the nation shocked."  Insisting that the 
principal issue between India and Pakistan is the 
"containment of cross-border terrorism," Prasad demanded that 
the UPA formally brief the opposition parties on what the UPA 
had accomplished in this regard during the Islamabad visit. 
Prasad inferred that Mukherjee was remaining silent on 
Pakistani support to cross-border terrorism because Congress 
did not want to alienate the Muslim voters prior to crucial 
upcoming elections in Uttar Pradesh (UP).  He also expressed 
dismay on what he said were contradictory statements on the 
India/Pakistan border, saying "Mukherjee said in Islamabad 
that the borders were not negotiable, while Prime Minister 
Singh said in Amritsar that the borders were irrelevant." 
Prasad concluded by stating that the BJP was not in favor of 
"normalizing" relations with Pakistan until it curtailed its 
support of cross-border terrorism, which he described as "the 
most important confidence building measure." 
 
Downplaying the Lunch 
--------------------- 
 
¶5.  (C) In a January 16 meeting with Poloff, another BJP 
spokesman, Prakash Javadekar, downplayed the importance of 
the January 3 luncheon meeting with the Prime Minister and 
reiterated the BJP's strong criticism of all aspects of the 
UPA's foreign policy, especially as it relates to Pakistan. 
He pointed out that the previous BJP/NDA government consulted 
regularly with Congress, which was then in opposition, 
holding some 30 formal meetings during its six years in 
power, during which all aspects of governing were discussed, 
including economics, foreign policy and social concerns. 
Javadekar made it clear that the BJP was not impressed that 
in over two years of UPA rule the Prime Minister has provided 
only one formal briefing to the BJP.  He described the lunch 
as an "informal meeting" at which nothing pertaining to 
India/US relations was discussed, and emphasized that 
nothing, other than a briefing on regional policy, took 
place.  He dismissed the lunch as little more than a 
"gesture," and stated that it is the duty of any Indian 
government to provide regular briefings to the opposition. 
Javadekar also confirmed that the BJP was disappointed that 
the Prime Minister made no mention of future meetings. 
 
A Grim Regional Assessment 
-------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (C) Javadekar confirmed press reports that FM Mukherjee 
in his briefings outlined UPA policies on Bangladesh, Sri 
Lanka, Burma, Nepal and Pakistan.  He noted that the BJP had 
a grim view of developments in all these countries.  Pointing 
out that India was located in an "unstable region," Javadekar 
derided the UPA for "not being proactive enough."  The BJP 
wants to help India's neighbors resolve their problems and 
wants to ensure that no "third power" is dragged in to 
mediate regional disputes, he asserted. 
 
¶7.  (C) Javadekar maintained that the UPA's Nepal policy is 
not going well as "the Maoists are not surrendering their 
arms."  He claimed that the UPA government was "doing 
nothing" in Nepal and could not take credit for ending the 
insurgency, as all the groundwork was performed by the 
 
NEW DELHI 00000342  003 OF 004 
 
 
Communists who "are not part of the UPA."  Likewise, he 
pointed out, the Bhutan government has turned thousands of 
its citizens into refugees and new flows could be stimulated 
at any time.  On Sri Lanka, Javadekar maintained that since 
Congress military intervention there was a bloody failure, 
the party was loathe to be proactive and the UPA is content 
to be a "mute spectator."  India needs to take action to 
ensure that Tamils in Sri Lanka are "protected," he asserted, 
without having to resort to a military intervention. 
Javadekar maintained that as the leading state in the region, 
India could bring a lot of pressure to bear on the Sri Lankan 
government to compel it to hold substantive negotiations with 
the LTTE.  He was adamant that the BJP would never support 
the creation of a "Tamil Eelam" out of Sri Lanka, as it would 
not ask any of India's neighbors to sacrifice "territorial 
integrity," "When we have declared that India will not 
sacrifice one inch of her territory, how can we ask our 
neighbors to give up land?" he asked rhetorically. 
 
Maintaining a Hard Anti-Pakistan Line 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (C) Javadekar emphasized that the BJP wants India to have 
good relations with all its neighbors, including Pakistan, 
but does not want the India/Pakistan relationship to be 
"Kashmir-centric."  He pointed out that during the previous 
BJP/NDA government, cross-border terrorism was the number one 
issue between India and Pakistan.  Since then, he asserted, 
the UPA has "fallen into Pakistan's trap" and has now made 
Kashmir the central point of the relationship.  He was 
adamant that if the BJP returns to power, it would change 
course and make it clear to Pakistan that the status of 
Kashmir has already been permanently decided and is not up 
for discussion.  For the BJP, he asserted, the only subjects 
for discussion would be the status of that portion of Kashmir 
currently "occupied" by Pakistan, and a permanent halt to 
Pakistani support for cross-border terrorism.  There are no 
other issues that need concern Pakistan, he maintained. 
 
Comment - No Change in the Status Quo 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (C) The PM's lunch invitation to the BJP leadership 
touched off a wave of speculation in the press and among the 
political watchers that perhaps some big initiative was in 
the works.  Several newspapers speculated that perhaps the 
UPA was intent on enlisting the BJP into a dramatic forward 
movement on Kashmir.  Subsequent events and our interaction 
with BJP insiders indicates that this was not the case.  It 
now appears that Congress decided to make a friendly overture 
to try to smooth ruffled BJP feathers, which was dismissed by 
the BJP as little more than a gesture.  Within days of the 
lunch, the BJP quickly reverted to form, retaining its hard 
line on Pakistan, dismissing Musharraf's proposals on 
Kashmir, and reiterating its insistence that Pakistan be held 
to account for its support of terrorism.  There is no 
indication that Congress was pleased with the luncheon or 
plans to hold further meetings with the opposition.  So far, 
it has remained silent on the BJP "demand" that it brief the 
opposition parties on the outcome of Mukherjee's Islamabad 
viit. 
 
NEW DELHI 00000342  004 OF 004 
 
 
 
¶10.  (U) Visit New Delhi's Classified Website: 
(http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/sa/newdelhi/) 
MULFORD