New Delhi: US embassy cables released by WikiLeaks say that late former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had written to the then Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in 1974 offering to share nuclear technology but only if proper conditions for trust were created. The offer was rejected by Bhutto.
The cables also say Indira Gandhi was evasive about nuclear weaponisation. The cables quote her as saying, "If our scientists have the basic know-how, without which they couldn't have done this, then any government could have directed them to make a bomb if they had so desired."
Another WikiLeaks cable also claims that AK Antony was "one of the only" leaders apart from Priyaranjan Dasmunsi who "flatly criticised" Sanjay Gandhi during 1976 AICC session in Guwahati during Emergency when the latter's political graph was on the rise.
The cables, made public by Wikileaks, also said the party faction led by Antony, the Kerala unit President, refused to support Sanjay and questioned his "rapid ascent to a position of power" asking "what sacrifices he has made for the party or the country".
In another cable which talks about Sanjay's unpopularity in Kerala, it is said that talks with a variety of people in May 1976 left them with the impression that Indira's second son was "not very popular" in the state. It said newsmen whom they met "resented" Sanjay's "rapid build up" saying that he was known only for his association with Maruti. The newsmen told US officials that Sanjay was not a politician and that he does not posses any qualities that were needed for political leadership.
(With additional information from PTI)
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