New Delhi: If WikiLeaks is to be believed, Uttar Pradesh CM and BSP supremo Mayawati has a ‘penchant for corruption’, as was described by her right hand man and party general secretary Satish Chandra Mishra.
According to a secret cable of US embassy leaked by the whistleblower website, Mishra branded Mayawati as ‘corrupt’ and ‘dictatorial’ and had told the US embassy officials that Mayawati has a "penchant for personal corruption" and "a strong authoritarian streak".
The cable dated May 29, 2007 describes Mishra as “fluent in English and the principal interlocutor between the US embassy and the BSP. “He has hosted Embassy officers at his house".
The cable adds, “Mayawati has very weak English language skills and limited exposure to non-Indians and may not be entirely comfortable interacting with Americans. To date, she has preferred to use Mishra in this role, although a future meeting, probably between Mayawati and the Ambassador (with Mishra likely acting as translator) cannot be ruled out."
It says Mishra was the "mastermind of UP social engineering" by getting Brahmins on board.
Confidential US embassy cables leaked by WikiLeaks portrayed the UP chief minister as a virtual dictator, who had food tasters to sample her meals.
An assessment of the chief minister in an October 2008 cable, 'Mayawati: Portrait of a Lady' also described how she once dispatched a plane to fetch her favourite sandals from Mumbai.
In yet another WikiLeaks expose, Cabinet Secretary to Chief Minister Mayawati Shashank Shekhar on May 4 told the Ambassador Burleigh that he foresees no change in Indian foreign policy if Mayawati becomes Prime Minister.
During a two-day trip to Uttar Pradesh, Ambassador Burleigh met with Shashank Shekhar. Shekhar is Mayawati's chief bureaucratic deputy and runs the machinery of the state government.
According to the cable, Shekhar dismissed any anti-American statements made by Mayawati and told Burleigh: “what little the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati has said about foreign policy issues - particularly, not supporting the Indo-U.S. Civil Nuclear Initiative last summer - was just rhetoric, and driven by the fact that her local political rival, the Samajwadi Party (SP), had supported the deal.
The cable says, Shekhar did not think Mayawati would become Prime Minister after the current Elections. “Because of the increased support for the national parties, he did not think Mayawati would become Prime Minister”.
Maya's Response
However, speaking a day after the unflattering cables made headlines, Mayawati stood by her aides and said that both the men named in the cables will be given more prominence in her party and her government.
According to a secret cable of US embassy leaked by the whistleblower website, Mishra branded Mayawati as ‘corrupt’ and ‘dictatorial’ and had told the US embassy officials that Mayawati has a "penchant for personal corruption" and "a strong authoritarian streak".
The cable dated May 29, 2007 describes Mishra as “fluent in English and the principal interlocutor between the US embassy and the BSP. “He has hosted Embassy officers at his house". The cable adds, “Mayawati has very weak English language skills and limited exposure to non-Indians and may not be entirely comfortable interacting with Americans. To date, she has preferred to use Mishra in this role, although a future meeting, probably between Mayawati and the Ambassador (with Mishra likely acting as translator) cannot be ruled out."
It says Mishra was the "mastermind of UP social engineering" by getting Brahmins on board.
Confidential US embassy cables leaked by WikiLeaks portrayed the UP chief minister as a virtual dictator, who had food tasters to sample her meals.
An assessment of the chief minister in an October 2008 cable, 'Mayawati: Portrait of a Lady' also described how she once dispatched a plane to fetch her favourite sandals from Mumbai.
In yet another WikiLeaks expose, Cabinet Secretary to Chief Minister Mayawati Shashank Shekhar on May 4 told the Ambassador Burleigh that he foresees no change in Indian foreign policy if Mayawati becomes Prime Minister.
During a two-day trip to Uttar Pradesh, Ambassador Burleigh met with Shashank Shekhar. Shekhar is Mayawati's chief bureaucratic deputy and runs the machinery of the state government.
According to the cable, Shekhar dismissed any anti-American statements made by Mayawati and told Burleigh: “what little the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati has said about foreign policy issues - particularly, not supporting the Indo-U.S. Civil Nuclear Initiative last summer - was just rhetoric, and driven by the fact that her local political rival, the Samajwadi Party (SP), had supported the deal.
The cable says, Shekhar did not think Mayawati would become Prime Minister after the current Elections. “Because of the increased support for the national parties, he did not think Mayawati would become Prime Minister”.
Maya's Response
However, speaking a day after the unflattering cables made headlines, Mayawati stood by her aides and said that both the men named in the cables will be given more prominence in her party and her government.
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