Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08MUMBAI560
2008-12-01 14:47:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Consulate Mumbai
Cable title:  

MAHARASHTRA STATE LEADER RESIGNS, RECRIMINATIONS CONTINUE

Tags:  PREL PGOV PTER ASEC IN 
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ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O P 011447Z DEC 08
FM AMCONSUL MUMBAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6778
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 8018
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MUMBAI 000560 

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER ASEC IN
SUBJECT: MAHARASHTRA STATE LEADER RESIGNS, RECRIMINATIONS CONTINUE

MUMBAI 00000560 001.2 OF 002


UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MUMBAI 000560

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER ASEC IN
SUBJECT: MAHARASHTRA STATE LEADER RESIGNS, RECRIMINATIONS CONTINUE

MUMBAI 00000560 001.2 OF 002



1. (SBU) Summary: Citing the call of his "inner voice," the
Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister, R.R. Patil of the
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has resigned from the
Maharashtra state government. The press speculates that
Congress Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh might be the next to
go. The search for accountability in the press and public has
increased since the siege of the hotels ended, and, as the
state's senior most leaders, Deshmukh and Patil are the easiest
targets. Congress contacts tell Congenoffs that there is
tremendous pressure to act decisively, but the roster of
capable, dynamic Congress politicians from Maharashtra is not
long. End Summary.



Maharashtra Home Minister R.R. Patil the First To Go

-------------- --------------




2. (U) A day after the resignation of Union Home Minister
Shivraj Patil, Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister R.R.
Patil, of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP),was the first to
tender his resignation. After days of denying that there was
any reason for him to resign, Patil told reporters, "I have gone
by my conscience and decided to take this step." (Note: The
NCP, led by Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, broke away
from the Congress Party in 1998, following Sonia Gandhi's
assumption of the Congress presidency. A regional party, the
NCP is strongest is Maharashtra, where a NCP-Congress coalition
government rules. Patil is the highest ranking NCP official in
the state government. End note.) Patil likely offered his
resignation at the behest of party leader Pawar. Patil was
criticized for his comments underplaying the severity of the
attacks, saying "such minor things happen in big cities."



Maharashtra CM Deshmukh Likely to Follow

--------------




3. (U) Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has also
offered to resign. "I accept moral responsibility for the
terror attacks and have offered to resign. It is up to the
Congress Working Committee to decide whether to accept my
resignation," Deshmukh told reporters at a press conference in
Mumbai on December 1. He tendered his resignation to Congress
Party President Sonia Gandhi on November 29. The press has

roundly criticized Deshmukh for his casual manner after the
attacks, and for a widely publicized tour of the Taj and Oberoi
hotels on November 30, for which he brought his actor son, and a
noted director of Bollywood horror films. (Deshmukh claims
their participation was a "coincidence.") Prithvi Raj Chavan,
the Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, Sushil
Kumar Shinde, the Union Power Minister, and Ashok Chavan, the
Cabinet Minister for Industries and Protocol, are all being
touted as potential successors to Deshmukh.



Congress Soul Searching~.

--------------




4. (SBU) Maharashtra state Congress Party spokesperson, Anant
Gadgil, told Congenoffs that the terrorist attacks on Mumbai
were a tragedy for India, and an "embarrassment" for the
Congress party. He said that Congress President Sonia Gandhi
was "furious" at her security team, and acknowledged that the
state and country were "not prepared" for these attacks. Gadgil
admitted that the Indian public was angry at its government
officials. He participated in the funeral procession of slain
Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare, and
heard bystanders hurl insults and taunts at politicians; at the
funeral, people in the crowd were whispering, "you corrupt
police are responsible for the death of one of your own."
According to Gadgil, his contacts in Madhya Pradesh say that the
Congress will now lose the Madhya Pradesh elections, which took
place on November 27. He also said these attacks will make it
impossible for the Congress to hold elections earlier, in
January or February, regardless of the outcome of the ongoing

MUMBAI 00000560 002.2 OF 002


state elections. In Maharashtra, Congress party workers tell
him that the Indian government must "act decisively" against
Pakistan to regain credibility.




5. (SBU) Gadgil told Congenoff that CM Deshmukh has offered to
resign, but the Congress Working Committee (CWC) will decide
whether or not to replace him after the visit of Indian
President Prathiba Patil to Mumbai on December 1. Gadgil had
recommended that Deshmukh be replaced over a year ago, but
Deshmukh's ability to raise funds from industrialists for the
Congress' election war chest, and the lack of any better
alternative, made dislodging him difficult. He acknowledged
that none of the proposed replacements are dynamic or strong
leaders, and will not have the desired effect of restoring
confidence in Congress leadership in Maharashtra.



~And BJP Plans For More Politics

--------------




6. (SBU) Piyush Goyal, BJP national treasurer and advisor to BJP
leader L.K. Advani, told Congenoffs Deshmukh would have to
resign soon. He called CM Deshmukh "lackluster and weak," and
criticized the Congress for continuing to pander to "communal
vote banks." Goyal noted that Advani's comments in Mumbai
immediately after the attacks were designed to rise above
politics and inspire Indians to unite against terrorism.
However, he asserted that the BJP would make an electoral issue
of the Mumbai terrorist attacks, as the party has consistently
derided the Congress for its "weak-kneed" response to India's
security. The BJP might be criticized for this, he
acknowledged, but he believed that these attacks have only
confirmed the BJP's position. He added that when the Home
Secretary briefed Advani at 7 pm on November 27, the Home
Secretary admitted that the information he had was seven hours
old.



U.S.-India Law Enforcement Cooperation Praised

-------------- --




7. (SBU) Goyal told Congenoff that he and his family lost
several friends in the attacks. In response to the tragedy, he
and some local industrialists have formed a non-partisan group
to make security recommendations to the government, including
the establishment of a federal investigative agency and the
procurement of better weaponry for security forces. Referring
to articles about the arrival of the FBI's investigation team,
he said that he hoped the police would have the "good sense" to
welcome and cooperate with law enforcement experts from all over
the world. Gadgil also praised the arrival of the FBI team, and
offered to raise the issue at the political level if the local
police refused cooperation.




8. (SBU) Comment: The Congress Party nationally as well and its
Maharashtra leadership continue to take heat from the public
over their handling of the terrorist attacks. Clearly, many
aspects of the response were out of the hands of local leaders,
but Mumbaikars are asking the Congress and NCP to show that they
are listening, and that they will take security seriously; the
casual manner and insensitive comments of Deshmukh and Patil
will not help their case any. Nevertheless, Deshmukh has
managed to ride out almost a decade of dissatisfaction against
his government, mainly because he is the least objectionable
leader among a number of uninspiring alternatives. He may
survive just yet. End Comment.
FOLMSBEE