Ashish Ranjan
Saturday, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar lashed out at hedge fund manager-turned-philanthropist George Soros for his remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Adani Group, and the Hindenburg report, describing the billionaire investor as “aged, wealthy, opinionated, and dangerous.”
In an address to the media in Sydney, Australia, Jaishankar characterised Soros’ remarks as representative of a “Euro-Atlantic perspective.” As the world rebalanced and became less Euro-Atlantic, he added, “we must have a debate and conversation about democracy,” including whose ideals define democracy.
“George Soros is an old, wealthy, opinionated New Yorker who continues to believe that his beliefs should dictate how the entire world operates. He is old, wealthy, opinionated, and dangerous,” Jaishankar stated in response to a question posed during a session of the Raisina@Sydney Dialogue, as reported by the PTI.
He stated that the voters of India determined “how the country should be run.” It concerns us. Reuters cited him as stating, “As a nation that has experienced colonisation, we are well aware of the hazards associated with foreign involvement.”
“We are aware of the dangers associated with external interference… This type of scaremongering, such as claiming that millions of people will be stripped of their citizenship, is detrimental to the social fabric. There are additional expressions of this in various countries, where people share his view that an election is successful if the candidate we favour wins. If the election produces a different result, then we will truly argue that the democracy is defective,” the minister of external affairs continued.
Also Read | George Soros: All You Need To Know | 10 Points
Friday’s statement by the nonagenarian billionaire investor stirred controversy ahead of the Munich Security Conference. “India is a democracy, but Narendra Modi is not a democratic leader. Inciting violence against Muslims contributed significantly to his spectacular rise. Modi maintains close links with both closed and open societies.
Soros then stated, “Modi and business magnate Adani are close buddies,” “their destinies are entwined,” “Adani is accused of stock manipulation,” and “Modi has remained mute on the matter, but he will have to answer inquiries from international investors and Parliament.”
