Foreign powers are working overtime to discredit the Modi government but they may be defeated in their own game
Indians and India’s politics are getting a lot of attention from foreign press and individuals/institutions having vast resources at their disposal. BBC, Hindenburg and George Soros are resourceful and they possibly influence the opinion-making process. Two important questions need a thorough analysis of this entire episode. The first question is whether the foreign individuals/institutions who are raising questions on India are impartial in their approach, and can their report be taken as gospel? The second question is will there be any impact on Indian politics due to their active and apparent involvement and if yes, then in which direction?
BBC is known for its partisan reporting and it has been banned twice in India. Left-leaning articles and documentaries are not new for the foreign press. Many British lawmakers have slammed the propaganda document which has been released by the BBC. They have gone to the extent of saying that Modi has been exonerated by the judiciary and the documentary insults the democratically elected Prime Minister of the largest democracy in the world.
Politics is not a place for saints and this is equally applicable to the financial world. US short seller firm Hindenburg accused Indian conglomerate Adani Group of wrongdoings and also disclosed that it has taken short positions in the Adani group. A short seller makes money when the stock price of the entity in which it holds a position goes down and therefore it was prudent for the Indian media to look into the merits of the accusations because the Hindenburg report can’t be taken at face value when it has vested interest in the downfall of stock and such apparent conflict of interest raises questions on ethics as well.
Instead of raising concrete questions on financial performance, liquidity, solvency, debt position, pledged assets by promoters, cash flow to debt/interest (coverage ratio), profitability, corporate governance etc., the report was more like beating around the bush. However, a section of the media was in a hurry because for them it was an opportunity to attack Modi due to his alleged proximity with Adani. Opposition and media trained their guns which were loaded with cannons supplied by a foreign agency. For perspective, when Air India placed an order for aircraft then leaders from US, UK and French welcomed this move and called it historic which is going to create jobs and improve their economy. Had this happened in India, the entire opposition would have alleged that the PM is on the payroll of the company and he is selling the country.
George Soros is a billionaire who long ago admitted in an interview that he is only interested in making money, and he can’t and doesn't look at the social consequences of what he does. The man is known for making money out of the financial crisis (e.g., breaking the Bank of England in 1992, and the Asian financial crisis in 1997) for which he has no regret. He has pledged 1bn USD to stop ‘nationalist’. He calls for the furtherance of democracy but he is funding organisations that decline Israel’s right to exist, the only democracy in west Asia. The man is trying to project himself as a messiah but his modus-operandi indicates that he is more into influencing politics and making the money out of the chaos. He has a history of funding the organisations which fuel unrest and his organisation Open Society Foundation launched India-specific funds in 2014 (when Modi came to power). Instead of celebrating this man’s involvement in our internal affairs, every Indian should be cautious about the evil designs which he and his organisation perpetrated in the past.
On the second question related to the impact of these developments, it can be safely concluded that BJP has delivered a fool toss ball and the shot is going to hit the stands. Very often Congress which is the largest opposition party gets linked with foreign entities which are not so friendly with India. In a television discussion a few years back, Mani Shankar Aiyar requested Pakistan to help Congress come back to power. A confidential MOU between Congress and the Chinese Communist Party becomes a topic of discussion whenever Indo-China relations go sour. The shady past of the Congress and attack on Modi from foreign soil is giving a message that ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ was only a façade and the grand old party has allies who want to break our nation. Keeping the politics aside, such blatant accusations and interference in our internal affairs is a clear sign that the West is still living in a colonial hangover and they are unable to digest our rise in the global order.
The recent attack on Modi by BBC, Hindenburg and Soros has given new weapons to BJP’s arsenal. New age BJP knows to harvest every opportunity which has now been given to it on a platter. The ruling party has rightly started giving a message to the people of this country that foreign parties are now hand-in-glove with the opposition and they want to intervene in our democratic process. No matter how much Congress wants to distance itself from these legitimate questions, it's going to haunt them in the upcoming parliamentary elections. After all, we are the largest democracy and the people of this country will have the last word.
(The writer is a Chartered Accountant, author and public policy analyst. The views expressed are personal)
