BJP DOWNPLAYS IMPORTANCE OF FOREIGN POLICY

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