EAM Jaishankar Hits out at George Soros remarks
External Affairs Minister Jaishankar hits out at US Billionaire and philanthropist George Soros over his remarks that he “expects a democratic revival in India.” Soros commented on Narendra Modi and Hindenburg’s report on the Adani Group. His controversial statement came on the eve of the Munich Security Conference on 17th February.
George Soros statements
The Hungarian-born billionaire covered issues including the Russia-Ukraine war, social tensions in the US, and the earthquake in Turkey and said, “India is an interesting case. It’s a democracy, but its leader, Narendra Modi, is no democrat. Inciting violence against Muslims was an important factor in his meteoric rise. Modi maintains close relations with both open and closed societies. India is a member of the Quad, which also includes Australia, the US and Japan, but it buys a lot of Russian oil at a steep discount and makes a lot of money out of it.”
George further added, “Modi and business tycoon Adani are close allies. Their fate is intertwined. Adani Enterprises tried to raise funds in the stock market but failed. Adani is accused of stock manipulation, and his stock collapses like a house of cards. Modi is silent on the subject, but he will have to answer questions from foreign investors and in parliament. This will significantly weaken Modi’s stranglehold on India’s federal government and open the door to push for much-needed institutional reforms. I may be naïve, but I expect a democratic revival in India.”
Soros’ “declaration to destroy India’s democratic processes”: Smriti Irani
Attacking Soros’s remarks, Union Minister Smriti Irani said, “The man who broke the Bank of England and is designated by the nation an economic war criminal has now said his desire to break Indian democracy. George Soros, an international entrepreneur, has declared his ill-intention to interrupt the democratic processes of India.”
Who is George Soros, the billionaire philanthropist Smriti Irani just took down? pic.twitter.com/SlcPOozsL4
— Brut India (@BrutIndia) February 17, 2023
Irani alleged that such forces try to bring down governments in other countries to ensure ‘their hand-picked people’ are in power. “It is clear from his statements that funding over one billion dollars, particularly to target leaders like PM Modi, is important,” said Smriti Irani.
Irani said Soros’s remarks were a “declaration to destroy India’s democratic processes” and that Indians have defeated such “foreign powers” who tried to meddle with India’s internal affairs earlier and will do so again. I urge every Indian to give a fitting reply to George Soros,” Irani said.
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Smriti Irani also claimed that Soros wanted to change the Government of India.
“Old, rich, opinionated, and dangerous”: S Jaishankar
Foreign Minister S Jaishankar also lashed out at the 92-year-old George Soros, calling him “old, rich, opinionated, and
dangerous” and someone who “still thinks that his views should determine how the entire world works.”
While addressing the Raisina, Sydney Dialogue, Jaishankar said, “Mr Soros is an old, rich opinionated person sitting in New York who still thinks that his views should determine how the entire world work, such people invest resources in shaping narratives.”
The External Affairs Minister also added, “people like him think an election is good if the person they want to see wins, and if the election throws up a different outcome, then they will say it is a flawed democracy.”
#WATCH | Mr Soros is an old, rich opinionated person sitting in New York who still thinks that his views should determine how the entire world works…such people actually invest resources in shaping narratives: EAM Dr S Jaishankar pic.twitter.com/k99Hzf3mGK
— ANI (@ANI) February 18, 2023
“And the beauty is that all this is done under the pretence of advocacy of open society,” Said Jaishankar.
“Puerile Statement” : P Chidambaram Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram also reacted to George Soros’s “revival of democracy” remark.
“I did not agree with most of what George Soros had said in the past, and I do not agree with most of what he says now. But to label his remarks as an “attempt to topple the democratically elected government in India” is a puerile statement”, said Chidambaram in his series of Tweets.
The former Union Minister further added in the tweet that “the people of India will determine who will be in and who will be out of the government of India”.
“I did not know that the Modi government was so feeble that it can be toppled by the stray statement of a 92-year-old rich foreign national”, Chidambaram said in another tweet.
He further tweeted to ignore George Soros and instead listen to Nouriel Roubini, “Roubini warned that India is increasingly driven by large private conglomerates that can potentially hamper competition and kill new entrants”.
The Congress’s Jairam Ramesh also slams Soros. Ramesh wrote on Twitter, “whether the ‘PM-linked Adani scam’ sparks a democratic revival in India ‘depends entirely’ on the Congress, opposition parties and India’s electoral process. This has nothing to do with George Soros, he said, adding, ‘Our Nehruvian legacy ensures people like Soros cannot determine our electoral outcomes.”
Whether the PM-linked Adani scam sparks a democratic revival in India depends entirely on the Congress, Opposition parties & our electoral process. It has NOTHING to do with George Soros. Our Nehruvian legacy ensures people like Soros cannot determine our electoral outcomes.
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) February 17, 2023
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