Days after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh took over the office in Jul 2009, US intelligence firm Stratfor decided to keep an eye on Congress’ Rahul Gandhi, who they thought would be the next PM.
“Watch power politics in Congress party, especially as Rahul Gandhi (son of Sonia Gandhi) is being groomed for a top position,” says a Stratfor email dated July 21, 2009, now exposed by WikiLeaks.
The same thoughts were echoed by many Congress leaders including, Pranab Mukherjee, Digvijay Singh and Jairam Ramesh, who felt the same.
Speculations were rife that Rahul could become the Prime Minister before the 2014 general elections as his mother Sonia Gandhi fell ill last year.
The souring ties between UPA and the Trinamool Congress which have become visibly evident after the two joined hands, Stratfor asked for any such dispute also to be monitored when the Trinamool became UPA’s ally in 2009.
“Monitor political rivalries between mainstream political parties (Congress, BJP) and second and third-tier parties that support ruling coalition,” said the email.
“There is no need to get into the nitty gritty of this, but watch for large-scale defections and any major policy decisions by chief ministers of key states,” said the Stratfor email.
The email also mentions India’s growing concern over Chinese activity on its border in Arunachal Pradesh.
“Watch Sino-Indian tensions – India is getting antsy about Chinese military and civilian infrastructure build-up in Tibet along the Arunachal Pradesh border,” the Stratfor email says. It also said that India would send out 50,000 troops to the Chinese border.
“But no word on when, where those troops would come from… Look for any further info on this and any shifts in troop deployments,” read the Stratfor email.
Reports reveal that Stratfor was also keenly keeping a watch on Indian military exercises with precise details such as date, location and focus of the exercise.
“The Indian media reports a lot on threats, thwarted plots, arrests, etc. – monitor these closely, as we have a number of clients concerned about security in India,” said the email, adding that any such threats to MNCs or IT companies should also be monitored.
“India is on edge over Pakistan’s jihadist problem and is worried about the spillover effect – look for any comments or actions by India in relation to Pakistani instability,” the email says.
——Agencies