Adani scandal may weaken Modi govt, says US billionaire Soros

NEW DELHI: Billionaire philanthropist George Soros said the turmoil at Gautam Adani’s business empire may weaken Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s hold on the government, a statement which was strongly countered by BJP as an attack on Indian democracy.

In a speech at the Munich Security Conference on Thursday, Soros said Modi would “have to answer questions” from foreign investors and Parliament on allegations the Adani group is facing.

“Modi and business tycoon Adani are close allies; their fate is intertwined,” he claimed. “Adani is accused of stock manipulation and his stock collapsed like a house of cards. Modi is silent on the subject, but he will have to answer questions from foreign investors and in Parliament.”

The 92-year-old investor said as the founder of Open Society Foundation, he considered open societies “morally superior” to closed ones, and spoke about repressive states and distinguishes between open and closed societies.

“India is an interesting case. It’s a democracy, but its leader Narendra Modi is no democrat,” he said. Modi, he said, maintains close relations with both open and closed societies.

“India is a member of the Quad (which also includes Australia, the US, and Japan), but it buys a lot of Russian oil at a steep discount and makes a lot of money on it,” he said.

“[ Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey] has much in common with Modi. But, while Modi seemed to be firmly in the saddle until recently, Erdogan has mismanaged the Turkish economy and will face elections in May. All his efforts are focused on winning the elections.” He then made the comments on Modi and his links with Adani before moving on to Brazil, Russia and its conflict with Ukraine, US president Joe Biden’s role in the war and finally to China.