A Day after Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros accused PM Modi of crony capitalism and of being complicit in the supposed ‘misdealings’ of the Adani Group, ‘political analyst’ and ichhadhaari protestor Yogendra Yadav extended support to Soros while attempting to distance himself from the latter’s remarks.
Yadav, in a debate on NDTV, said that Soros had said nothing wrong but he is no one to comment upon the Indian affairs. He called him an ‘eccentric’ billionaire and said he had strong opinions about the world and political philosophy. “He is no BBC. He is nobody to pay attention to. All the opposition parties, including Congress, are distancing themselves from Soros’ remarks. Why is the BJP-led government even responding to him,” he said.
#LeftRightCentre | Yogendra Yadav (@_YogendraYadav), member and former President, Swaraj India, when asked if India is overreacting to George Soros’ comments pic.twitter.com/UzHPWQWtgQ
— NDTV (@ndtv) February 17, 2023
Yadav added that the BJP government was hyping Soros’ statement and that it needed to answer to foreign investors. “What did Soros say? He says PM Modi and tycoon Adani are close allies, which is a simple fact. If someone doesn’t agree, he’ll have to go to another country. He says their fate is intertwined which looks quite possible. He says Adani was accused of stock manipulation, which is a fact. He says that Adani’s stock collapsed like a house of cards which did happen. He says India is a democracy but PM Modi is not a Democrat. He is not the first one to say that. Anyone who knows India even slightly would know these things,” Yadav asserted.
Based on this, Yadav said, Soros drew conclusions demanding Modi to answer questions from foreign investors. Yadav seemed to agree with Soros and said that Modi will definitely have to answer the foreign investors and also he’ll have to answer all the questions in the Parliament. Meanwhile, he attempted to maintain distance from Soros’ claims and also tried to support Congress by saying that no opposition party including Congress needs Soros to tell them what questions are to be asked to the Prime Minister.
A similar confusing and manipulative stand was taken by the Congress party yesterday, which at first distanced itself from Soros’ remarks while a few of its party members extended support to Soros and his statement. Turning on its ‘damage control’ mode, Congress chief of communications Jairam Ramesh hastened to clarify that the Congress party, which has been most vocal against Adani and has been doing exactly what George Soros endorsed, has nothing to do with George Soros.
“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”, tweeted Ramesh.
However, Praveen Chakravarthy, Congress leader and Rahul Gandhi’s close aide shared a news article on the recent statement by George Soros and indicated that Modi will have to give answers to the foreign investors “Modi may dodge answering questions about Adani in Parliament and in India but he cannot escape from foreign investors – George Soros,” he tweeted.
After this, BJP even slammed the Congress party and said that it would never distance itself from the controversial statement by Soros. “Jairam, Since you love movie titles – how is this one? “yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai” or “Ham Saath Saath Hai” Suits you well on this closet relation between Congress & Soros – for ref see Praveen Chakravarty tweet. Congress ka haath hamesha desh virodhiyon ke saath kyu?” he pondered.
Jairam
— Shehzad Jai Hind (@Shehzad_Ind) February 17, 2023
Since you love movie titles – how is this one? “yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai” or “Ham Saath Saath Hai”
Suits you well on this closet relation between Congress & Soros – for ref see Praveen Chakravarty tweet
Congress ka haath hamesha desh virodhiyon ke saath kyu? pic.twitter.com/McUBuVO52O
Soros’ links to Andolanjivi Yogendra Yadav
Andolanjvi Yogendra Yadav made attempts to distance himself from Soros’ claims but ended up delivering a confused statement. Notably, Businessman and self-described philanthropist Soros, a Hungarian-American, has vowed to “fight nationalists” and conservative governments throughout the world, which he frequently refers to as “authoritarian governments.” If there is one thing George Soros has disliked throughout his life, it is India and the nationalist leadership of PM Modi.
Soros has made significant progress in spreading chaos to India through his Open Society Foundation, which began its operations within the country in 1999 by providing scholarships and fellowships for individuals to pursue studies and research at Indian universities. Soros’ active support of anti-India forces operating inside India has allowed the left-wing international organisation he leads to start spreading its tentacles across the nation under the guise of doing charitable works.
He has cultivated a class of intellectuals who work resolutely towards opposing the Indian state, especially the nationalist government led by PM Narendra Modi. He set up Media Development Investment Fund (MDIF) whose current Indian beneficiaries are the far-left websites like Scroll, GramVaani, etc. Further, the Open Society Foundation also funds the International Committee of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), an international organisation with journalist affiliates worldwide, including India.
Besides funding media, the Open Society Foundation has also been a benefactor to left-leaning intellectuals who have constantly put out fake narratives against the current government. He also has links with Yogendra Yadav, who, as a professor at the Centre for Study of Developing Societies in 2006, had presented a State of Democracy in South Asia (SDSA) study in front of Soros, who was visiting India for the first time, as well as Amartya Sen.
Yadav has made several political efforts earlier to demean the BJP government and aid the opposition parties in elections. Earlier, he had admitted that the farmers protest which was launched to oppose three farm acts that were passed by the Parliament of India in September 2020, was a ‘political stunt’. He had said that he and Rakesh Tikait had created a conducive ‘pitch’ to defeat the BJP in 2022 elections by organising a farmers’ movement, but the opposition ‘did not bowl well’ to benefit from it.
Yadav essentially implied that the Samajwadi Party, the BJP’s main rival in Uttar Pradesh, did not play its role properly despite, they having made all necessary preparations through the farmer’s movement.
