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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 000209 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS, DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR PTER IN EAGR
SUBJECT: DELHI DIARY, JANUARY 28 TO FEBRUARY 3, 2009 
 
REF: CHENNAI 00025 
 
¶1.  (U)  Below is a compilation of political highlights from 
Embassy New Delhi for January 26 to February 3, 2009, that 
did not feature in our other reporting, including: 
 
--    Supreme Court Denies Congress Attempt to Help Political 
Ally 
--    Indian Leaders Rail Against Pub Culture 
--    Kalyan's Entry Upsets SP Muslims 
--    Former President Dies, National Event Cancelled 
--    Lalu, Sonia Launch Rae Bareli Coach Factory 
 
Supreme Court Denies Congress Attempt to Help Political Ally 
--- 
 
¶2. (SBU) The Supreme Court on January 27 denied a request by 
federal prosecutors to wipe the slate clean on a corruption 
investigation into Samajwadi Party (SP) leader - and Congress 
Party ally - Mulayam Singh Yadav.  In the long running case, 
prosecutors charged the Uttar Pradesh-based SP leader with 
owning disproportionate assets, a common (and usually true 
though unproven) charge leveled by sitting governments 
against their political rivals.  But now that the SP is a 
crucial Congress Party ally, the GOI has taken steps to 
derail the case.  The request would have sent the case back 
to the supposedly independent Central Bureau of Investigation 
(CBI).  Within CBI, bureaucrats mindful of political 
considerations could have put an end to the case without a 
decision from the truly independent Supreme Court.  With the 
denial, the Supreme Court publicly chastised the Congress 
Party stating, "We do not want the CBI to become an 
instrument of the Center." 
 
¶3. (SBU) Attempts by the Congress Party to intervene in favor 
of political allies demonstrates that the party will do 
whatever it takes to keep its fragile coalition alive through 
the coming national elections.  Though they haven't yet come 
to a formal seat sharing agreement, the Congress and the SP 
will likely contest jointly in UP against their common enemy, 
Mayawati's BSP. 
 
Indian Leaders Rail Against Pub Culture 
--- 
 
¶4.  (U)  Days after Sri Ram Sene attacked young women in a 
Mangalore bar (ref A), Chief Ministers in Rajasthan and 
Karnataka railed against the growth of "pub and mall 
culture."  The Congress Party's recently elected Rajasthan 
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on January 28 vowed to put an end 
to pub culture in which "boys and girls hold hands and roam 
freely in malls and public places."  He appeared determined 
to reverse what he called former Bharatiya Janata Party 
(BJP)-led state government's "liberal" excise policy that had 
opened the doors to pubs and booze shops state-wide.  In 
Karnataka, meanwhile, BJP Chief Minister B.S. Yaddyurappa 
echoed Gehlot's allegations, pledging to control the pub 
growth by applying stricter liquor laws. 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  It is not clear what steps Gehlot and Yaddyurappa 
will take to clamp down on "pub culture."  Both politicians 
have made an effort to condemn publicly the violent attacks 
on women in Mangalore.  Yet, they espouse quite 
tradition-bound and conservative views that see women 
frequenting clubs as against "Indian culture."  As India 
grows economically and integrates into the international 
economy, such tension between modernity/globalization and 
tradition will occur.  We should expect such debates in the 
run-up to national elections as parties position themselves 
for the polls.  It is ironic that these social tensions are 
occurring in the two states that are among the top 
destinations of western business and tourist travelers and 
have had long exposure to more liberal values. 
 
 
NEW DELHI 00000209  002 OF 002 
 
 
Kalyan's Entry Upsets SP Muslims 
-- 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  The Samajwadi Party (SP) has upset a section of 
its Muslim base with the induction of Bharatiya Janata Party 
(BJP) veteran Kalyan Singh's son, Rajvir Singh, into the 
party fold on January 22.  Muslim leaders have accused SP 
leaders of over-looking Kalyan senior's alleged role in the 
destruction of the Babri Masjid in 1992, when he was the 
Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.  The SP has thrived on the 
support of the Muslim community, which accounts for 18.5% of 
UP population.  Few believe that Kalyan and his son's SP 
alliance will cause any lasting damage to the party. 
However, it may pose some problems for the SP-Congress 
seat-sharing arrangement, as Congress looks to consolidate 
the Muslim vote bank ahead of national polls due by April-May 
this year. 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  Kalyan resigned from the post of BJP National Vice 
President on January 20, a decision that he attributed to 
"continued humiliation and insult" from party leadership. 
However, there is growing speculation that Kalyan's 
disenchantment with the party was triggered by rumors that 
his son was going to be denied a Lok Sabha seat in upcoming 
polls.  Both Kalyan and SP chief Amar Singh appear to have 
gained from the alliance.  Kalyan has secured a political 
future for his son, while the SP has gained strategic votes 
in the Lodh community of UP with Kalyan's backing. 
 
Former President Dies, National Event Cancelled 
--- 
 
¶8.  (U)  India's eighth President R. Venkataraman died of 
multiple organ failure at the age of 98 on January 27.  The 
government declared a seven-day state of mourning and 
cancelled official ceremonies, including the annual Beating 
of the Retreat ceremony as part of the Republic Day 
celebrations.  During his presidency from July 1987 to July 
1992, Venkataraman saw the rise of coalition politics and, in 
reaction, became a staunch advocate of a strong national 
government for political stability.  As a young Congress 
politician in Tamil Nadu, he laid the base for industrial 
development in the state. 
 
Lalu, Sonia Launch Rae Bareli Coach Factory 
--- 
 
¶9.  (U)  Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi, Union Railway 
Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and Congress heir apparent Rahul 
Gandhi laid the foundation for the Rupees 20 billion (USD 417 
million) railway coach factory in Sonia's parliamentary 
district of Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh, on January 27.  The 
railway factory made headlines last October when UP Chief 
Minister Mayawati refused to transfer state-owned land to the 
railway project, which resulted in a Mayawati-Sonia political 
stand-off and a four-month project delay. 
 
¶10.  (SBU)  At the foundation ceremony, party MLAs and Lalu 
Prasad took the opportunity to criticize Mayawati's 
development record, noting that "only" infrastructural 
development can provide for UP's poor.  Mayawati refuted UPA 
allegations and accused them of playing politics in the "name 
of development."  In the run-up to national elections, we 
expect further squabbles between Mayawati and the UPA allies 
as they battle for advantage in the biggest and most 
important electoral state. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
MULFORD