New Delhi: In a rare show of unanimity, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress party have lashed out at US billionaire-philanthropist George Soros over his remarks that he “expect(s) a democratic revival in India”. Soros’s remarks came in reference to the Hindenburg report on the Adani Group and the opposition’s attack on the Narendra Modi government.
While Union minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani accused Soros of demonising India to “further his personal gain”, Congress’s Jairam Ramesh suggested that Soros had nothing to do with democracy in India and said it is the job of the Congress and other opposition parties in the country to safeguard democracy.
Speaking on a broad set of themes including climate change and geopolitics at the Technical University of Munich, on the eve of the Munich Security Conference, on Thursday, February 17, Soros 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…”
On Adani, he said, “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 collapsed 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 opened the door to push for much-needed institutional reforms. I may be naive, but I expect a democratic revival in India.”
In his 50-minute speech, Soros devoted only a couple of minutes to India and Adani. The Telegraph reports that Soros’ speech “oscillated between climate change, Russia-Ukraine war, rumbling[s] in the US, Turkey disaster and failures in China”.
‘Ill intention’
Coming down heavily on Soros, Union minister Irani said, “The man who broke the Bank of England, and is designated by the nation an economic war criminal, has now pronounced his desire to break Indian democracy. George Soros, an international entrepreneur, has declared his ill-intention to intervene in the democratic processes of India.”
She alleged that such forces try to bring down governments in other countries to ensure “their hand-picked people” are in power. “It is evident from his statements that he has pronounced funding over one billion dollars particularly to target leaders like PM Modi is significant,” she said, referring to the billionaire investor known for “breaking” the Bank of England in 1992.
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 as well, and will do so again. “I urge every Indian to give a fitting reply to George Soros,” she said.
She also claimed that Soros wanted to effect a regime change in India.
Soros has no role in Indian democracy: Congress
The Congress’s Jairam Ramesh too hit out at Soros. Taking to Twitter, Ramesh said 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
The 92-year-old philanthropist is one of the wealthiest men in the world and is the founder of Open Society Foundations, which gives grants to groups and individuals that promote democracy, transparency, and freedom of speech. The foundation is spread over 70 countries.
Soros has been involved in political activism, and also earlier supported the presidential campaigns of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden in the United States. He has also spoken out against China’s President Xi Jinping, former US President Donald Trump, and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
In his Munich speech, he attacked Erdogan but praised Brazil’s new president, Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva.