PM SINGH ABLY DEFENDS RECIPROCAL NATURE OF INDO/US

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 009486

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/16/2015
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL ETTC KNNP MNUC ENRG IN
SUBJECT: PM SINGH ABLY DEFENDS RECIPROCAL NATURE OF INDO/US
AGREEMENT IN PARLIAMENT

Classified By: Political Counselor Geoff Pyatt, for Reasons 1.4 (B, D)


1. (C) Summary: The BJP latched onto a leftist
Parliamentary question on the July 18 civil nuclear agreement
in an attempt to score points against the UPA. BJP
heavyweights Yashwant Sinha (former Foreign Minister) and
Sushma Swaraj asserted that the agreement was "stalemated,"
and that the US was pressuring India regarding its civil
nuclear facilities and tacking on added conditions. After a
Minister of State for External Affairs fumbled his response,
the PM personally intervened, asserting that the agreement
was fully reciprocal, was making good progress, and that
India's actions regarding its civil nuclear facilities were
completely voluntary. Afterwards, MPs from Congress and the
BJP praised the PM's robust performance. The July 18
Agreement holds little political resonance for the
opposition, as it is too complex, and most Indians support
its implementation. The BJP has apparently decided to
concentrate on simpler issues, such as bribery scandals, that
have more traction in Parliament and in the media. End
Summary.

The Left Launches the Attack
--------------


2. (U) The July 18 civil-nuclear agreement came back to the
floor of Parliament on December 15 when Manoj Bhattacharya, a
Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) MP asked whether the US
administration has been seeking more concessions and "placing
the burden of meeting conditions associated with the Indo-US
Nuclear deal entirely on India?" Although the Left submitted
the query, the BJP immediately jumped-in. Former Minister
Yashwant Sinha and BJP delegation leader Sushma Swaraj Sinha
queried the Congress bench regarding purported press
statements by U/S Burns that India should first begin to
carry out its obligations if it wanted US cooperation in
civil nuclear energy, and asserted that the process was in
"stalemate."

And the PM Saves the Day
--------------


3. (U) Minister of State Rao Inderjit Singh attempted to
reply on behalf of the PM, but bungled his statement halfway
through. PM Singh then personally replied, stating "We
expect a close correlation between the action to be taken by
the US and India, and that Indian actions will be contingent
at every stage on actions taken by the other side.
Therefore, the question of the US administration asking for
more concessions to be made by India and placing the burden
of fulfilling commitments contained in the Joint Statement
entirely on India does not arise. ... If the US does not
carry out its obligations, we are also free not to carry out
ours. ...The sides have expressed their views on the road
ahead and are working to evolve a road map. ...Our position
remains as conveyed by the Prime Minister to Parliament on
July 29, 2005, that our commitments would be conditional
upon, and reciprocal to the US fulfilling its side of the
understanding, and we expect a close correlation between the
actions to be taken by the US and India, and that India's
action will be contingent at every stage on actions taken by
the other side."


4. (U) The PM also denied that the US was exerting pressure
on India, and asserted that India's decision to put certain

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nuclear facilities under international supervision was
India's alone. Clarifying that th% process was not
"stalemated," the PM stated that there had recently been a
"good meeting" of the Joint Working Group and that another
meeting would take place "soon."

The PM Gets Good Marks
--------------


5. (C) Congress MP Rashid Alvi, who was present for the
debate, told us on December 15 that the "atmosphere in the
house" was good, in that the often-boisterous MPs listened
respectfully to the PM's statements. Alvi concluded that the
PM had done a credible job of refuting the opposition's
attacks and "the Rajya Sabha sounded much satisfied by his
balanced remarks." BJP MP SS Ahluwalia told us on December
15 that his party raised the issue because it was concerned
about "various statements coming out of US government
officials and Congressmen calling upon India to take steps
without mentioning what the USG was doing." Ahluwalia
confirmed that the BJP was "satisfied" with the PM's response.

Comment - A Difficult Yet Popular Issue to Grasp
-------------- ---


6. (C) The BJP has been looking for issues it could use to
score points in Parliament against the UPA, but the PM's
December 15 Parliamentary performance indicates that the July
18 Agreement has failed to resonate. The issue is too
complex to wrap around simple slogans, with most MP's not
fully read-in on its complexities, even if it does produce
emotional sound-bites that the Left and BJP can exploit in
the media. Moreover, most Indians remain supportive of
US-India nuclear cooperation. Since the agreement and its
complexities are too esoteric for the Indian man in the
street, yet largely supported by him, the BJP has apparently
determined not to press it. The opposition prefers to work
issues that fit more easily into the traditional Indian
political framework, such as corruption scandals. The PM's
solid performance belied earlier fears that he would not be
up to the job of defending India's foreign policy in the
rough and tumble of Parliamentary debate. He also proved
that the contours of the agreement make good sense for both
the US and India.


7. (U) Visit New Delhi's Classified Website:
(http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/sa/newdelhi/)
MULFORD