P Chidambaram’s Swipe At George Soros Row

New Delhi: Reacting to billionaire investor George Soros’ criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and questions on Hindenburg Research’s report on industrialist Gautam Adani, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said that he disagrees with most of what George Soros had said in the past, and he does not agree with most of what he says now.

Mr Chidambaram tweeted, “I did not agree with most of what George Soros had said in the past, and I do not agree with most of what he says now. But to label his remarks as an “attempt to topple the democratically elected government in India” is a puerile statement.”

Mr Soros at the Munich Security Conference on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be weakened by the stock crash of business tycoon and alleged close ally Gautam Adani, “opening the door” to a democratic revival in the country.

In a series of tweets from his official account on Saturday, the leader said that the people of India will determine who will be in and who will be out of the government of India, and added, “I 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 another tweet, he advised to “ignore George Soros and listen to Nouriel Roubini.” According to Mr Chidambaram’s tweet, Roubini warned that India is “increasingly driven by large private conglomerates that can potentially hamper competition and kill new entrants”.

Nouriel Roubini is CEO of Roubini Macro Associates, a global macroeconomic consultancy firm in New York. He is also the chief economist for Atlas Capital Team LP, as well as co-founder of Rosa and Roubini Associates, according to nourielroubini.com. At a 2006 address to the International Monetary Fund, Mr Roubini warned of the impending recession due to the credit and housing market bubble.

In one of his tweets and while continuing in this thread, the Congress leader also said, “Liberalisation was to usher in an open, competitive economy. The Modi government’s policies have created oligopolies.”

The 92-year-old billionaire philanthropist said in a speech on Thursday that PM Modi would “have to answer questions” from foreign investors and Parliament on allegations of fraud and stock manipulation at Mr Adani’s industrial empire, noting that PM Modi had been “silent” on the topic.

The BJP had yesterday blasted Mr Soros’s remarks, calling it a ‘declaration to destroy India’s democratic processes’.

Adani Group has come under fierce scrutiny since US short-seller Hindenburg Research accused the company of engaging in “brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud” over decades. The Adani Group has dismissed the allegations as baseless.

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