If Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa can have US President Barack Obama bowing to her in a poster, why can’t the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi claim to have received an endorsement of his “incorruptibility” from WikiLeaks, the international journalistic organisation that publishes classified documents online?
Unlike Obama, WikiLeaks isn’t willing to let the BJP get away with it. On Monday, the whistle-blowing website posted a series of tweets clarifying that neither the organisation, nor its detained founder Julian Assange, had ever endorsed Modi, as claimed by Narendra Modi on his website.
“Narenda (sic) Modi’s #BJP has been pushing this fake #Modi endorsement,” the website posted, attaching a photo (originally created as satire, but later used by Modi's supporters nevertheless) that features Assange asserting America’s fear of the “incorruptible” BJP leader. “But #Assange has never said anything about Modi.”
The genesis of the controversy dates back to 2011, when WikiLeaks released a whole tranche of embassy cables, including some sent out by US Mumbai Consul General Michael S Owen. One of those cables, sent by Owen in 2006, included a report of a meeting with a Congress leader from Rajkot, Gujarat.
“Rajkot Congress party leader Manoharsinh Jadeja said, 'Modi’s accomplishments are undeniable,' and admitted that the Congress would make little headway against the BJP in Gujarat anytime soon. Modi is extremely popular, Jadeja said, and even Muslims are now supporting him to some extent because he is viewed as someone who is completely incorruptible and can deliver the goods. Consul General asked if Modi could become a national BJP leader, and Jadeja said he hoped so, because as long as he was the CM in Gujarat, Congress would face a tough fight,” the cable said.
It is clear from the cable that the “incorruptible” comment is not the view of WikiLeaks or even of Owens, but simply the way Jadeja – a local rival politician – was analysing Modi’s image in Gujarat. The Gujarat chief minister, however, was happy to ignore this nuance. In a post on his website, Modi announced that the Wikileaks cables are “accurate” and added, “I am glad to learn that America admits Modi is incorruptible.”
Modi would go on to make this claim on several occasions, telling TV channels: "To say a person is non-corrupt is one thing but the report that America has sent mentions me as ‘un-corruptible’ based on interactions with people.”
Over the last few weeks, the claim has been brought up again – but this time by the BJP’s digital army. In their case, they went beyond Modi's interpretation that America had called him incorruptible, insisting now that this was also the opinion of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
This prompted WikiLeaks to put out an official denial in a series of tweets, just in time to add one more silly controversy in the run up to this year's Lok Sabha polls. The website also posted a link that allows you to see all the cables in its archives that mention Narendra Modi.
Following WikiLeaks' clarification that there was no endorsement, the BJP put out a statement claiming the controversy was inconsequential. "The nation does not need a certificate from Julian Assange or Wikileaks about Modi, and neither does Modi to win the elections. What the people want is just good governance," party leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Monday.
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Unlike Obama, WikiLeaks isn’t willing to let the BJP get away with it. On Monday, the whistle-blowing website posted a series of tweets clarifying that neither the organisation, nor its detained founder Julian Assange, had ever endorsed Modi, as claimed by Narendra Modi on his website.
“Narenda (sic) Modi’s #BJP has been pushing this fake #Modi endorsement,” the website posted, attaching a photo (originally created as satire, but later used by Modi's supporters nevertheless) that features Assange asserting America’s fear of the “incorruptible” BJP leader. “But #Assange has never said anything about Modi.”
The genesis of the controversy dates back to 2011, when WikiLeaks released a whole tranche of embassy cables, including some sent out by US Mumbai Consul General Michael S Owen. One of those cables, sent by Owen in 2006, included a report of a meeting with a Congress leader from Rajkot, Gujarat.
“Rajkot Congress party leader Manoharsinh Jadeja said, 'Modi’s accomplishments are undeniable,' and admitted that the Congress would make little headway against the BJP in Gujarat anytime soon. Modi is extremely popular, Jadeja said, and even Muslims are now supporting him to some extent because he is viewed as someone who is completely incorruptible and can deliver the goods. Consul General asked if Modi could become a national BJP leader, and Jadeja said he hoped so, because as long as he was the CM in Gujarat, Congress would face a tough fight,” the cable said.
It is clear from the cable that the “incorruptible” comment is not the view of WikiLeaks or even of Owens, but simply the way Jadeja – a local rival politician – was analysing Modi’s image in Gujarat. The Gujarat chief minister, however, was happy to ignore this nuance. In a post on his website, Modi announced that the Wikileaks cables are “accurate” and added, “I am glad to learn that America admits Modi is incorruptible.”
Modi would go on to make this claim on several occasions, telling TV channels: "To say a person is non-corrupt is one thing but the report that America has sent mentions me as ‘un-corruptible’ based on interactions with people.”
Over the last few weeks, the claim has been brought up again – but this time by the BJP’s digital army. In their case, they went beyond Modi's interpretation that America had called him incorruptible, insisting now that this was also the opinion of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
This prompted WikiLeaks to put out an official denial in a series of tweets, just in time to add one more silly controversy in the run up to this year's Lok Sabha polls. The website also posted a link that allows you to see all the cables in its archives that mention Narendra Modi.
Following WikiLeaks' clarification that there was no endorsement, the BJP put out a statement claiming the controversy was inconsequential. "The nation does not need a certificate from Julian Assange or Wikileaks about Modi, and neither does Modi to win the elections. What the people want is just good governance," party leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Monday.
