New Delhi:
The Indian government's WikiLeaks nightmare continues, with a fresh batch of cables revealing how an anxious India sought US approval for a range of major decisions.
In April 2009, for example, days after Hardeep Puri was appointed India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, a senior official from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) wrote to an American diplomat, virtually requesting a sign-off on Mr Puri's posting.
A cable dated May 1, 2009 discloses, "On April 29, MEA Joint Secretary (Americas) Gaitri Kumar described Puri to PolCouns as 'pragmatic' and 'an achiever', noting that we should let MEA know if we have any complaints." (
Read entire cable)
A series of cables sent in September 2005 suggest that India's decision to vote with America against Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had been coached by the US.
And then in April 2008, a cable reveals that an official in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), anxious about displeasing the Americans, informed them first about a visit by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Sent by Charge d'Affaires Steven White, the cable stresses this point.
"The official said she was providing the Embassy with this information prior to the MEA informing even other agencies within the Indian government, and before the information was to become public...Our interlocutor did not explain why the Indian government is accepting Ahmadinejad at this time, but, in giving us the forewarning, was clearly aware of U.S. sensitivities over such a visit".
The cable later states, "In Post's estimation, the reason for agreeing to an Ahmadinejad visit at this time is to appease the UPA government's domestic Left and Muslim constituencies, i.e., asserting the independence of India's foreign policy, as well as its healthy relations with Muslim neighbors, at a time when the Communists are scoring points with the electorate by criticizing the government for becoming too close to America (and Israel) at the expense of Indian sovereignty."
(Read entire cable)The cables have provoked a new round of aggressive criticism from the Opposition. "These new cables only substantiate what we have been saying all along about the yaari dosti with America...it's shameful that India can't make its own independent decisions," said Left leader Brinda Karat.
Strangely, the biggest defence for the government against accusations of its pro-US bias lies within other cables where US diplomats complained that Indian officials weren't as cooperative as they should be.
A cable dated January 14, 2008 from David Mulford, then US Ambassador to New Delhi, said, "We note that under the NDA government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee it was easier to meet Indian officials and get business done, even in the paranoid Ministry of Home Affairs, but the Congress government has reverted to type, indulging in the sorts of Brezhnev-era controls on its people, of which Indira Gandhi would have approved of. The Nehru dynasty needs to become more like the Tata dynasty."
The most damaging of the cables tumbled out of the closet last week, announcing that the Congress had bought MPs to survive its vote of confidence in July 2008 when the Left challenged India's nuclear deal with the US.
The Prime Minister questioned the authenticity of the cables, but the issue embarrassed the government in Parliament, and added to the perception the government is currently trying to fight - as an establishment that's permissive of front-row corruption.
However, in an exclusive interview to NDTV, WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange has said the cables are genuine. He described Dr Singh's explanation as "a deliberate attempt to mislead the Indian public".
(Watch: Cash-for-Votes WikiLeaks cables are authentic)