Smriti Irani hits out at George Soros for 'attack' on Indian democracy

Union minister Smriti Irani on February 17 lashed out at billionaire investor George Soros, accusing him of attacking the Indian democracy. She asked Indians to denounce the intention of Soros, who has allegedly declared his ill-intention to intervene into the democratic process of the country.

“Today, as a citizen, I call upon every individual and organisation –  society or political - to denounce the intention of this individual (Gerorge Soros) who seeks to demonise our democracy, weaken our democratic interests, and who brings an onslaught to the economy of the India all so that he can personally gain," she said.

Irani’s statement came soon after Soros said that the crisis related to industrialist Gautam Adani would trigger a “democratic revival in India” following which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have to answer questions from foreign investors and in Parliament”.

Soros made his remarks ahead of the Munich Security Conference. “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,” he said.

Irani said Soros is an allegedly designated war criminal and has expressed desire to break Indian democracy. “The man who broke the Bank of England, a man who is known and designated so by a nation as an economic war criminal have now pronounced his desire to break Indian democracy,” she said.

Irani alleged that Soros wanted to destroy Indian democracy and have some "hand-picked" people to run the government in India.

“George Soros, an international entrepreneur who hedges bets against many countries, has now declared his ill-intentions to intervene in the democratic process of India. George Soros wants a government which is pliable to his needs is more than evident from his statement.”

Soros has announced funding over a billion dollar, particularly to target leaders like Prime Minister Modi is significant, said Smriti Irani.

“As a Karyakarta (worker) of the BJP, this is an appeal to every Indian citizen, every five years we all democratically elect a government to serve the needs and aspirations of India. We, as a nation state during Covid became the pharmacy to the world. We, as a nation state are witness to how Prime Minister Modi has ensured food security for 800 million Indians. We as a nation state are witness to the Amrit Kaal Budget, which has the highest allocation for defence,” Irani said.

When India rose to the fifth largest economy of the world, the President of the United States of America (USA), Prime Minister of England, and the President of France publicly extended gratitude to the Indian Prime Minister and India, for enabling employment not only in in the country but also to these three nations.

“Such is the time where imperialistic intentions of an entrepreneur come to light.  Those who find Mr Soros pliable, need to know that India has defeated imperialistic designs before and shall do so again. Those who support Mr Soros need to know that democracy has prevailed in India and will continue to do so.”

Meanwhile, the Congress said whether the Adani issue sparks a democratic revival in the country depends entirely on the grand old party and other opposition parties, and it has nothing to do with billionaire investor George Soros.

"Whether the 'PM-linked Adani scam' sparks a democratic revival in India depends entirely on the Congress, Opposition parties and our electoral process. It has nothing to do with George Soros," Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on Twitter.

"Our Nehruvian legacy ensures people like Soros cannot determine our electoral outcomes," Ramesh said.

With inputs from PTI