'Old, rich, and dangerous': S Jaishankar hits out at billionaire investor George Soros over PM remark

A day after Union Minister Smriti Irani slammed billionaire investor George Soros for his remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, her colleague, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, slammed him as 'old, rich, opinionated, and dangerous,' and someone who 'still thinks that his views should determine how the whole world operates.'

The 92-year-old hedge fund tycoon, associated with liberal causes, sent shockwaves through the Indian political scene on Thursday, claiming that Gautam Adani and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's fates are intertwined; he also alleged that Modi is not a 'democrat.'

At the Munich Security Conference, Soros also said that the turmoil in Adani's business empire could pave the way for a 'democratic revival' in the country.

In response to a question during a Raisina@Sydney Dialogue session with Australian Minister Chris Brown, Jaishankar described Soros as an 'old, rich, opinionated person sitting in New York, who still believes that his views should determine how the entire world works.'

Jaishnkar said, 'people like him' believe an election is good if the person they want to see wins, and if the election results in a different outcome, they will say it is a flawed democracy.

"Globalisation allows for seamless opportunities, but it also allows for narratives to be shaped, money to come in, and organisations to get their agendas in order," said Jaishankar. According to him, the beauty is that all of this is done under the guise of advocating for an open society.

He claimed that Soros accused India of plotting to strip millions of Muslims of their citizenship at the same conference a few years ago.

"We are aware of the risks associated with outside interference, and if you do this kind of scaremongering, like millions of people will be denied citizenship, It actually causes significant damage to the social fabric as someone out there believes you," he explained. 

The Adani Group has been under intense scrutiny since US short-seller Hindenburg Research accused it of accounting fraud and stock manipulation on January 24, accusations that the conglomerate has dismissed as 'malicious,' 'baseless,' and a 'calculated attack on India.'

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