"I urge every Indian to give a fitting reply to George Soros," she said.
Soon after billionaire investor George Soros said that Indian business tycoon Gautam Adani's recent troubles in the stock market would spur 'democratic revival in India' and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will 'have to answer questions', Union Minister Smriti Irani called upon Indians to unitedly respond to 'foreign powers who try to intervene in India's democratic processes'.
Calling Mr Soros's remark a 'declaration to destroy India's democratic processes', she said Indians have defeated such 'foreign powers' who tried to meddle with our internal affairs earlier as well, and will do so again. "I urge every Indian to give a fitting reply to George Soros," she said.
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, referring to Mr Soros's remark, said it had 'nothing to do with George Soros', and whether the Adani controversy would 'spark a democratic revival' depended on Congress, Opposition parties, and India's electoral process.
"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," he tweeted.
Launching a scathing attack on the billionaire, the Union Minister said he is a designated 'economic war criminal' who has declared his ill-intention towards India.
"The man who broke the Bank of England, and is designated by the nation an economic war criminal, has now pronounced his desire to break Indian democracy. George Soros, an international entrepreneur, has declared his ill-intention to intervene in democratic processes of India," the fiery BJP leader said.
She alleged that such powers try to bring down governments in other countries to ensure 'their hand-picked people' are in power.
"It is evident from his statements that he has pronounced funding over one billion dollars particularly to target leaders like PM Modi is significant," she said, referring to the billionaire investor known for breaking the Bank of England in 1992.
"PM Modi has repeatedly said that he can take criticism, but an attempt on India will not be tolerated," Smriti Irani further said, adding that this is a 'war' and PM modi is the only one who stands between the foreign powers and the citizen.
The Union Minister also warned political organisations that may support the billionaire for his 'attack' on the PM.
"Any political organisation that matches steps with George Soros will stand exposed in front of the Indian electorate," she said.
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi questioned why the BJP was doing an entire press conference on Mr Soros, and took a dig at Ms Irani asking is she had any comment on Israel agency's interference in India's electoral process. Ms Chaturvedi was presumably referring to the NSO group's spyware 'Pegasus' which caused a huge political storm in India over allegations of snooping on unseuspecting citizens, journalists, and politicians.
"Who is George Soros and why is BJP's Troll Mantralaya doing an entire press conference dedicated to him? BTW, Mantriji any comment on an Israel agency's interference in India's electoral process? That is a bigger threat to India's democracy," Ms Chaturvedi tweeted.
Smriti Irani asserted that the PM "will not bow down".
"While India-US ties are being strengthened, while India is emerging as the World's 5th largest economy --- we should stand united and let these forces know that PM Modi will not bow down," she said.
"When India rose to fifth-largest economy in the world, and when Presidents of US, France, and PM of England publicly extended gratitude to Indian PM for enabling employment in these nations, such is the time when imperialistic intentions of an entrepreneur come to light," Smriti Irani added.
92-year-old George Soros, while delivering a speech at the 2023 Munich Security Conference on Thursday, predicted that PM Modi will be weakened by the business troubles of Gautam Adani, whose companies faced a massive stock market rout after US-based short seller Hindenburg released a report accusing the Adani group companies of stock manipulation, "opening the door" to a democratic revival in the country.
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, Mr Soros said, noting that PM Modi had been "silent" on the topic.
"Modi and business tycoon Adani are close allies; their fate is intertwined," Mr Soros had said, adding that, "Adani Enterprises tried to raise funds in the stock market, but he failed. 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 Hungarian-American businessman, who established the Open Society Foundations to 'promote democratic governance', has said PM Modi "is no democrat", alleging that "inciting violence against Muslims was an important factor in his meteoric rise". He added that India "buys a lot of Russian oil at a steep discount and makes a lot of money on it", Financial Times reported.
Soros also said Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan "has mismanaged the Turkish economy", while in China, President Xi Jinping's "close association with (Russian president) Putin would hurt him".
He added that "Xi will not remain in office for life, and while he is in office, China will not become the dominant military and political force that Xi is aiming for."
Hindenburg accused the Adani group of engaging in "brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud" over decades. The Adani Group has dismissed the allegations as baseless.
The Adani group has lost $125 billion in market capitalisation since the release of the Hindenburg report on January 24.
(Disclaimer: New Delhi Television is a subsidiary of AMG Media Networks Limited, an Adani Group Company.)