The leaked Radia tapes revealed how corporate houses control crucial decisions made by the Central government, and exposed several UPA Ministers as corporate appointees. Now, US embassy cables leaked by the whistleblower website Wikileaks have revealed clear evidence of the lengths to which the US monitors and influences the functioning of Government and Parliament.

A U.S. Embassy cable dated January 30, 2006 sent by Ambassador David C. Mulford to Washington observed that in January 2006, the Manmohan Singh Government appointed Murli Deora (described by the Ambassador as "pro-US" ) as Petroleum Minister, removing Mani Shankar Aiyar, who is described as a “contentious and outspoken Iran pipeline advocate”. Mulford adds that “The UPA inducted a large number of serving MPs (among them Deora), including seven from the IUPF (Indo-US Parliamentary Forum) who have publicly associated themselves with our strategic partnership.” Mulford therefore concludes approvingly that the Cabinet reshuffle is “likely to be excellent for US goals in India (and Iran),” signifying the Manmohan Singh Government's "determination to ensure that US/India relations continue to move ahead rapidly.”

Another official US cable dated July 17, 2008 reveals that when the US Embassy's Political Counselor visited Congress MP Satish Sharma, Sharma's political aide reported on how MPs were being bought for Rs 10 crore each, and is quoted as saying that "money was not an issue at all, but the crucial thing was to ensure that those who took the money would vote for the government.” Further, to convince the US representative that the Congress was indeed doing its utmost to ensure a pro-Nuke Deal vote, Sharma's aide showed him chests full of crores of cash which was meant for buying the votes of MPs! The American representative also quotes Sharma as saying that he would persuade "former Prime Minister Vajpayee's (foster) son-in-law Ranjan Bhattacharya to speak to BJP representatives.”

Other cables testify to the fact that the UPA Government lies to the Indian public on the real nature of its relationship with Israel and Iran. One cable makes the assessment that India's seemingly warm engagement with Iran meant for “public consumption," mostly to please the “domestic Muslim and Non-Aligned Movement audience." Another cable quotes then National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan as saying that India would like to vote against Iran when the matter came up in the IAEA a second time, was worried about the reaction in its “domestic political constituency.” The US cables also record that US representatives warned India that failure to vote against Iran at the IAEA would jeopardise the Nuke Deal. Events show that the Manmohan Singh Government ably served their US masters by voting as directed by the US.

In Parliament, Pranab Mukherjee and the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have declared that they “cannot confirm the veracity, contents or even the existence” of the Wikileaks cables. Their protestations however sound completely hollow when faced by the statement of the former US Ambassador David Mulford who has indicated that the leaked cables, many of them authored by him, are genuine and generally accurate. The Prime Minister has further made the arrogant claim that the victory of the UPA in the 2009 elections was proof that the people have rejected allegations of bribery in the confidence vote, and therefore the matter merits no re-investigation. It is time the PM faced up to the fact that the cables offer fresh and explosive evidence – not just of bribery but of the much more serious charge of undermining India’s own interests and subverting democracy to meet the demands of the US. Such evidence cannot be brushed under the carpet.

One set of cables has also exposed the duplicity of the BJP, proving that in matters of subservience to the US, the BJP and the Congress are birds of a feather. A senior BJP leader is quoted assuring the US representative that the BJP’s political resolutions criticising the United Progressive Alliance's ‘subservience' to the US should not be taken too seriously since it is “only political rhetoric meant to score easy points against the UPA.” Another cable refers to L K Advani’s playing down of the BJP’s stated opposition to the Nuke Deal, and promising ‘continuity’ in Indo-US relations and the Nuke Deal too, if the BJP were to come to power.

Till now it was evident that the Manmohan Singh Government had presided over scams and corporate loot of epic proportions. Now, to cap it all, it is shamefully apparent that the UPA Government 'fixed' Cabinet appointments and corrupted the process of voting on the floor of Parliament to ensure that the outcome suited US interests. Confirmation of the cash-for-votes information (already exposed on the floor of Parliament) as well as for the UPA Government’s ‘hidden agenda’ of effecting a far-reaching pro-US shift in the country’s policies and priorities, now comes straight from the horse's mouth - the records of the Government's own trusted 'strategic partner' and master, the United States of America. No self-respecting country can allow a government to remain in power which has so shamefully been caught in the act of selling out the country’s interests to imperialist forces. Enough is enough, the UPA Government must quit now!