WIKILEAKS-LD RAHUL 2LST

According to the cable, Roemer said, "Over the past
four years, he (Rahul) was an elusive contact, but he could be
interested in reaching out to the United States, given a
thoughtful, politically sensitive and strategic approach on
our part".
Roemer spoke about the need to reach out to the young
leaders of the country.
"We will seek other opportunities to engage with him
and with other promising young members of the new generation
of parliamentarians," he was quoted as having said.
"Gandhi mentioned that in the recent election 60
members of the new Parliament were 45 or younger," according
to the cable.
"In a system long viewed as relatively static, the
influx of new faces and the rising profile of young leaders
like Rahul Gandhi provides us an opening to expand the
constituency in support of the strategic partnership with a
long term horizon," Roemer said.
This particular cable is one of about 3,038 US
diplomatic cables sent from Delhi and leaked by the
whistle-blower website.
WikiLeaks is releasing a quarter million secret US
documents and 5,087 records amongst these refer to India.
Another cable from the US embassy in New Delhi in
February this year cited Rahul's move to take on Shiv Sena's
"xenophobic agenda," and said the young Congress leader
appears to be becoming increasingly sure-footed in his
political instincts.
This secret cable is dated February 22, 2010 and is a
diary of the political events in the country from January 30
to February 19.
The document said Gandhi's blunt words against the
"Maharashtra chauvinist" party, followed by his visit to
Mumbai that came with a local train ride was a public
relations bonanza for him.
"Rahul Gandhi's Mumbai visit and his skirmishing with
the Maharashtra chauvinist Shiv Sena party shows he is
becoming increasingly sure-footed in his political instincts,"
said the cable.
"He (Gandhi) first hurled some blunt words at the
Thackerays and Shiv Sena's xenophobic agenda. These were
widely and sympathetically reported around the country.
"He then took it a step further when the Shiv Sena
issued 'Keep Off Maharashtra' threats by going to the
Thackerays' home ground of Mumbai, where he continued to take
shots at them," the cable says referring to the political
events of those days.
The cable said Rahul topped it off by showing the
common touch when he made a last minute change in his
itinerary to travel across town in a second-class train
compartment.
The document noted that Shiv Sena supremo Bal
Thackeray responded by launching an attack on Rahul Gandhi's
"Italian Mummy," referring to UPA chief Sonia Gandhi. PTI