Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday said that labelling billionaire George Soros’s remarks as an “attempt to topple the democratically elected government in India” is a puerile statement. The Bharatiya Janata Party earlier launched a frontal attack on George Soros, a supporter of progressive and liberal political causes, for his remarks on India’s democracy and linking it to the ongoing controversy surrounding the Adani Group.
In his remarks at the Munich Security Conference, Soros (92) said, “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 open the door to push for much-needed institutional reforms. I may be naive, but I expect a democratic revival in India,” he said.
The BJP seized on his remarks with Union minister Smriti Irani telling a press conference that a war is being mounted against India and what stands between the war and India’s interests is Prime Minister Modi.
Targeting Soros, Irani said, “He wants a government that is pliable to his needs for making his nefarious plans successful. It is evident from his statements that he has declared funding of over one billion dollars particularly to ‘target’ leaders like PM Modi, which is significant,” she said.
Chidambaram said he does not agree with “most of” Soros’s remarks but “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.”
In a dig at Irani, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra said, “Every Indian urged by Hon’ble Cabinet Minister to give fitting reply to George Soros. Please bang your thalis at 6 pm sharp today.”
