Clinton queried over Pranab?s Finance ministry job: WikiLeaks
India?s Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee?s selection for the portfolio had led to anxious questions from the US, which was unclear regarding the leanings of the veteran Congressman, a latest WikiLeaks cable claimed.
As the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government faces accusation of buying lawmakers to keep the government floating in 2008 as per a WikiLeaks cable, another released confidential message by the whistle-blower site has raised more questions on the level of purported interference of the US in Indian politics.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in a cable to the US Embassy on September 14, 2009, had questioned the selection of Mukherjee as the Finance minister.
?To which business groups is Mukherjee beholden?; Why was (he) chosen over Montek?,? Clinton asks in the cable, also indicating that the US was expecting Home minister P Chidambaram to return to the Finance ministry or Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia to be elevated.
Clinton further asked: ?Whom will he (Mukherjee) seek to help through his policies? What are Mukherjee’s priorities in the upcoming budget… ??
?What are Mukherjee’s primary economic concerns and his views on Prime Minister Singh’s economic reform agenda? How quickly does he plan to pursue these reforms? What is his ability to enact reforms?? the US Secretary of State queried.
Clinton had more questions over Mukherjee: ?What is Mukherjee’s relationship with the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, D.V. Subbarao? How does Subbarao view the removal of Chidambaram from the Minister of Finance slot? What impact has his removal had on relations between the finance ministry and the RBI??
She also queried about giving the Commerce and Industry portfolio to Anand Sharma in UPA-II.
?Why was Sharma chosen for the job? What are his larger ambitions? Why was [Kamal] Nath moved to the road transport and highways portfolio? What are Nath’s views on the change? Does Sharma get along with Mukherjee and Prime Minister Singh?? Clinton asked in the cable.
?How does Sharma view India’s current Foreign Direct Investment guidelines? Which sectors does he plan to open further? Why is he reluctant to open multi-brand retail? What are his views on the special economic zones?? are among the questions the US Secretary of State had on India?s then-new Commerce minister.