DELHI DIARY, MAY 30-JUNE 6, 2008

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SUBJECT: DELHI DIARY, MAY 30-JUNE 6, 2008

REF: 07 CHENNAI 605


1. (U) Below is a compilation of political highlights from
Embassy New Delhi for May 30-June 6, 2008 that did not
feature in our other reporting, including:

-- MEA Chief of Mission Conference
-- Government Officials Retain Public Information
-- Karunanidhi Birthday Bash: Bashing the BJP
-- Pakistani Rockers Charm Kashmiris

MEA Chief of Mission Conference
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2. (SBU) Media sources reported that External Affairs
Minister Pranab Mukherjee will convene India's first ever
Chief of Missions Conference August 20-23 with all of India's
approximately 150 envoys participating. The conference is
expected to include a top-to-bottom policy review aimed at
making Indian foreign policy more "proactive." Among the
scenarios to be discussed will be India's prospective waiver
from the Nuclear Suppliers' Group allowing it to conduct
nuclear commerce. In addition, Indian media speculates that
Mukherjee will begin assessing envoys as the potential
successor to Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon, whose
tenure ends in July 2009.

Government Officials Retain Public Information
--------------


3. (U) The media recently criticized the tendency of
government to hide information from its citizenry by
deploying the "national interest" argument. The 2005 Right to
Information (RTI) Act gives the citizens of India access to
records of the Central and State governments. During 2008,
Rajasthan, Kerala and several other states have routinely
invoked section 8 of the RTI act exempting government
officials from releasing information in which "disclosure
would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of
India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic
interests of the State." Comment: Media criticism of the
government proclivity to use Section 8 of the RTI may result
in a healthy debate over transparency in government.

Karunanidhi Birthday Bash: Bashing the BJP
--------------


4. (U) Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK party celebrated Chief
Minister Karunanidhi's 85th birthday with the over-the-top
extravagance that is typical of the DMK and opposition
AIADMK's competing demonstrations of devotion to their
leaders. The city found itself awash in a sea of Karunanidhi
posters and DMK flags. One especially memorable poster showed
the octogenarian Chief Minister smilingly laboring under the
weight of what appeared to be a 50-pound flower garland. On
the big day, the Chief Minister shuttled between the Chennai
residences that house his two wives and the DMK's party
headquarters, receiving numerous well-wishers from Tamil
Nadu's elite. Thousands of doting DMK supporters came to
greet the Chief Minister but they were kept at bay by the
police. The DMK devotees showered Karunanidhi with an array
of gifts, ranging from goats painted in the DMK's party
colors, pigeons, fruit baskets, flowers, and, of course,
money.


5. (U) Beyond the displays of adulation, the birthday
celebrations had a serious political side. At the day's major
public event, Karunanidhi exhorted India's secular parties to
band together to thwart the "communal forces" of the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),saying that "every citizen of
the country has the responsibility to see" that BJP does not
come to power in New Delhi. He was joined on stage by
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Prakash Karat of
the Communist Party of India (Marxist),and D. Raja of the
Communist Party of India. Mukherjee read a letter from

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Congress President Sonia Gandhi which said the United
Progressive Alliance had looked up to Karunanidhi as the
coalition's "senior most leader for guidance, advice, and
good governance." Karat praised Karunanidhi for his
leadership against "the forces in the country that invoke
religion" for everything. Karunanidhi used the occasion to
emphasize his disappointment with the religiously motivated
opposition that has stalled the Sethusamudram shipping canal
project (Ref A). He hammered home the importance of the
project using sound bites ("Sethu Ram will be my birthday
gift") and symbolism (the stage set was designed with a ship
motif).


6. (U) Comment: With the BJP forming it's first-ever
government in next door Karnataka, the feisty Karunanidhi
clearly relished baiting the BJP, which, according to
conventional wisdom, remains on the margins in Tamil Nadu.
But, one Delhi analyst assessed that for Karunanidhi to take
aim so squarely at the BJP may be a signal that he fears BJP
inroads into Tamil Nadu after its successful assault on
Karnataka. With the DMK facing anti-incumbency, voter
resentment over inflation, corruption, and the Karunanidhi
family's dominance over DMK politics, taking shots at the BJP
is an easy way to distract attention away the party's
problems. Karunanidhi did not draw attention, of course, to
the fact that not long ago his party was part of the BJP-led
National Democratic Alliance government, and could once again
be part of such a coalition if the bidding price is right.
End comment.

Pakistani Rockers Charm Kashmiris
--------------


7. (U) On May 25, Junoon, a popular Pakistani rock band
performed on the banks of Dal Lake in Srinagar to an
enthralled audience of about 4,000. The performance was
organized by the South Asia Foundation (SAF),an NGO
promoting regional cooperation in South Asia. The event was
part of the festivities to inaugurate the Institute of
Kashmir Studies at the University of Kashmir. The concert
courted some political controversy. Critics such as
Pakistan-based militant Syed Salahuddin had pressed Pakistan
not to allow Junoon to perform in Srinagar, arguing that the
concert would send a signal to the international community
that "Kashmir was an integral part of India." Despite the
political overtones, the concert was incident free and the
young crowd enjoyed the show.


8. (SBU) Comment: While not too much should be read into the
performance, it is a positive sign. Kashmir will remain a
flashpoint in Indo-Pak relations, but the concert represents
another small step in a state that is moving steadily towards
a new normalcy. End Comment.
MULFORD