US and them

Barely has the dust settled down on four weeks of intense campaigning and electioneering and even before the results have been officially announced, a controversy has broken out over the alleged attempts of the United States to “influence the formation of the next government”.

And what exactly are these shadowy attempts?

It appears that the US charge d’affaires in New Delhi Peter Burleigh has been meeting political leaders not merely to gauge the scene but also to suggest to them what decision they should take. Specifically, the Left is upset that Burleigh was reported to have told Chandrababu Naidu during a meeting that the communists ought not to come to power as it would hinder Indo-US relations. The American embassy has already denied the allegation but the Left refuses to believe it and has condemned the “imperialist character” of the US.

Not being privy to the conversation between the US official and the TDP chief it is difficult to know what exactly was spoken, but prima facie it appears highly unlikely that any diplomat would be so brazen. That the TDP is a part of the Left-led third front is fairly well-known and any decision it will take will be on the basis of how the numbers fall in the post-May 16 scenario.

Like most diplomats Burleigh too has been doing the rounds of political party offices — he also met LK Advani this week — to get a good inside view of how they see the situation. With the pre-poll scenario being so fluid — yesterday’s enemies could be today’s friends and vice versa — Burleigh would be a brave man to predict, much less influence the course of Indian politics even if he wanted to. Indeed, many  other diplomats have met Indian politicos, including  Mayawati, Narendra Modi and yes, the leftists.

There was a time in Indian politics when the best way to damn a politician was to call him a “CIA agent”. The CIA was the bogeyman that operated in the shadows and was the puppet master that influenced events through nefarious means. Perhaps it did and maybe it operates here today too.

But normal diplomacy is not all about cult and dagger activities — it is done in the open and legitimately. It is a diplomat’s job to work for his country and getting a sense of the state of political play is part of that job. Indian politicians have a busy time ahead of them — they should not get diverted by side-shows.