India Cables, Page 1, TH, March 16, 2011
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·WEDNESDAY,MARCH16,2011· 24 Pages G Rs. 4.00 ISSN 0971 - 751X City Edition Vol. 134 No. 64 Delhi www.thehindu.com Regd. DL(ND)-11/6110/2006-07-08 www.thehindu.in RNI No. 1001/57 BIG RISE IN BAHRAIN MARUTI’S SOUTH AFRICA RAPE CASES ON EDGE MILESTONE QUALIFIES PAGE 7 PAGE 14 PAGE 16 PAGE 17 Printed at Chennai, Coimbatore, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Madurai, Delhi, Visakhapatnam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Vijayawada, Mangalore, Tiruchirapalli, Kolkata and Hubli • • ‘Cash for votes a way of Radiation spreading from crippled reactors Third blast at Fukushima Daiichi plant precipitates crisis political life in South India’ Hiroko Tabuchi, Keith Bradsher, David E. Sanger Politicians admit breaking election law: ‘yes, that’s the great thing about democracy’ & Matthew L. Wald TOKYO/HONG KONG/WASHING- Sarah Hiddleston Wherever Mr. Kaplan and cal temple and a community TON: Japan’s nuclear crisis his colleagues went, “journal- hall, he said. In his cable, Mr. verged toward catastrophe on CHENNAI: Politicians and their ists, politicians, and voters Kaplan summarised Karti’s Tuesday after an explosion aides in Tamil Nadu and And- spoke of the bribes as a com- position: “bribes are useful damaged a vessel containing hra Pradesh admitted to vio- monly accepted fact of the but not necessary to political the nuclear core at one reac- lating election law to election process.” success…bribes are one factor tor and a fire at another influence voters in the 2009 For example, during visits among many, along with the spewed large amounts of ra- Lok Sabha polls through pay- to slums in Chennai and Hyd- quality of the candidate, the dioactive material into the ments in the form of cash, erabad, they “learned that strength of the party, and the air, according to the state- goods, or services, according poor urban voters expect po- issues. But he cautioned that ments of Japanese govern- to a revealing cable sent to the litical parties to pay come bribes alone will not prevail.” ment and industry officials. State Department by Freder- election time.” They were Anil Ambani, Karti is quoted (An AFP report said a mag- ick J. Kaplan, Acting Princi- told by a DMK political strat- as saying, “can’t win an elec- nitude 6.0 quake rattled To- FIRE & FEAR: The No. 3 reactor of the Fukushima pal Officer of the U.S. egist that “slums are critical tion just by paying people off. kyo late on Tuesday. The Daiichi nuclear plant at Minamisoma is seen Consulate-General in Chen- to a campaign because their It doesn’t work that way.” epicentre was located in Shi- nai. In conversations with a population density and pov- Candidates needed a strong zuoka prefecture, about 120 burning after a blast following the March 11 visiting consulate team, Karti erty allows them to be more party apparatus in order to km southwest of the capital.) quake-tsunami in this handout satellite image Chidambaram of the Con- ‘easily mobilized’ by bribes.” win elections, but “bribes can In a brief address to the na- taken on Monday. — PHOTO: DIGITAL GLOBE/REUTERS gress, M. Patturajan, confi- Representatives of a non- help put you over the top” in tion at 11 a.m. Tokyo time, dant of Union Minister for governmental organisation a close race. Prime Minister Naoto Kan been withdrawn, leaving 50 carry it. Readings reported on Chemicals and Fertilizers working in a Chennai slum “Worthy requests” by con- pleaded for calm, but warned or so workers in a desperate Tuesday showed a spike of ra- M.K. Alagiri and former May- said that “the two main polit- stituents were worth consid- that radiation had spread effort to keep the cores of dioactivity around the plant or of Madurai, and Member of ical parties in Tamil Nadu – ering, mused MIM’s Mr. from the crippled reactors three stricken reactors cooled that made the leakage cate- Parliament Assaduddin the DMK and the AIADMK – Owaisi in a separate conver- and there was “a very high with seawater pumped by gorically worse than it had Owaisi of the Majlis-e-Itten- regularly bribe voters.” They distribution adopted by the 2009 parliamentary election sation with consulate staff risk” of further leakage. For- firefighting equipment, while been, with radiation levels hadul Muslimeen spoke with- described a “sophisticated DMK in Thirumangalam: because the relevant Lok over a late dinner in Hyd- tunately, the prevailing winds the same crews battled to put measured at one point as high out inhibition about how operation” to distribute cash: “Rather than using the tradi- Sabha constituency was sev- erabad after a long day cam- were sweeping most of the out the fire at the No. 4 reac- as 400 millisieverts an hour. they, their principals, or their “Weeks before the elections tional practice of handing en times the size of the As- paigning. According to Mr. plume of radioactivity out in- tor, which they claimed to Even seven minutes of expo- parties made payments to agents of the parties come to cash to voters in the middle sembly seat. According to the Kaplan’s cable, Mr. Owaisi to the Pacific Ocean, rather have done just after noon. sure at that level will reach voters during the election the neighborhood with cash of the night, in Thirumanga- cable: “Azhagiri has been tried to make a distinction than over populated areas. That fourth reactor had the maximum annual dose campaign. carried in rice sacks. They lam, the DMK distributed forced to ratchet the payment between cash bribes given by The sudden turn of events, been turned off and was un- that a worker at a U.S. nuclear In a cable sent on May 13, have copies of the voter lists money to every person on the back down to more typical rivals and payments to voters after an explosion on Monday der refurbishment for plant is allowed. And expo- 2009 (206688: confiden- and they distribute the mon- voting roll in envelopes in- levels, but he still plans on by his own party: “One com- at one reactor and an early- months before the earth- sure for 75 minutes would tial), accessed by The Hindu ey based on who is on the serted in their morning giving it to every voter munity’s leaders asked Owai- morning explosion on Tues- quake and tsunami hit the likely lead to acute radiation through WikiLeaks, Mr. Ka- list.” The agents come in the newspapers. In addition to through the newspaper dis- si that day to dig them a well. day at yet another, the third plant on Friday. But the plant sickness. plan detailed the role and im- middle of the night, “between the money, the envelopes tribution method.” ‘So I sent one of my party in four days, at the plant al- contains spent fuel rods that In Tokyo, 170 miles south pact of money power in two and four in the morning, contained the DMK ‘voting Union Home Minister P. men back later in the day,’ he ready made the crisis at the were removed from the reac- of the plant, the metropolitan corrupting the electoral proc- when the Election Commis- slip’ which instructed the re- Chidambaram’s 2009 Lok explained, ‘to give them Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear tor, and experts guessed that government said on Tuesday ess, drawing from informa- sion is asleep.” cipient for whom they should Sabha election campaign in 25,000 rupees (approximate- Power Station the worst nu- the pool containing those that it had detected radiation tion gathered from a variety vote.” This, Mr. Kaplan Sivaganga was managed by ly 500 USD).’ Owaisi empha- clear accident since the Cher- rods had run dry, allowing the levels 20 times above normal of sources in the field: “Bribes ‘Can I get another noted, “forced everyone to his son. According to the ca- sized that he does not give nobyl reactor disaster a rods to overheat and catch over the city. In Ibaraki pre- from political parties to vot- morning paper?’ receive the bribe.” Mr. Pattu- ble, Karti Chidambaram spe- cash directly to voters, but quarter-century ago. fire. That is almost as danger- fecture, just south of Fukush- ers, in the form of cash, goods, In Madurai, “virtually ev- rajan , he wrote, “confirmed cifically denied paying cash rather funds worthy re- It diminished hopes earlier ous as the fuel in working re- ima prefecture where the or services, are a regular fea- ery conversation centred on the newspaper distribution for votes, “but not because of quests: ‘If they want a well, I in the day that engineers at actors melting down, because plant is located, the amount ture of elections in South In- the parliamentary candidacy method of handing out mon- any moral objection to doing give them the money, but the plant, working at tremen- the spent fuel can also spew of radiation reached 100 dia. Poor voters expect bribes of Mr. M.K. Azhagiri,” who ey, but questioned its effi- so. He does not pay cash for make sure they use it for the dous personal risk, might yet radioactivity into the atmo- times the usual levels. — New from political candidates, and according to Mr. Kaplan had ciency. He [Patturajan] votes in his rural constitu- well.’ On the same day, he succeed in cooling down the sphere. York Times News Service candidates find various ways “added money” to his “politi- pointed out that giving bribes ency because it is impossible also told us that he had paid most damaged of the reac- The two critical questions to satisfy voter expectations. cal muscle” and was “using it every voter wasted money on to distribute the money effec- 35,000 rupees (700 USD) to tors, No.