• Source:JND
Add as a preferred

A DAY after the US billionaire philanthropist George Soros claimed that the stock market rout of the Adani Group of companies and the revelations made by Hindenburg research will lead to a "democratic revival in India,"  the Union Minister Smriti Irani has lashed out at the billionaire investor Soros and said that he is attempting to undermine Indian democracy and that the UK has designated him as an economic war criminal.
Meanwhile, Congress, which was also critical, said whether the Adani issue sparks a democratic revival in the country depends entirely on Congress and the other opposition parties and has nothing to do with the investor George Soros.

Who is George Soros?

George Soros, a 92-year-old philanthropist, is one of the wealthiest men in the world. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, Soros was born into a rich Jewish family that left Hungary after the Nazis arrived. He studied philosophy at the London School of Economics and later moved to New York to work as an analyst of European securities. 

According to Bloomberg, Soros has a net worth of $8.5 billion and is the founder of the Open Society Foundations. It gives grants to groups that promote democracy, transparency, and freedom of speech. Soros has also been involved in political activism and has supported the political campaigns of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Joe Biden.

What has Soros said about PM Modi?

George Soros was speaking during a speech ahead of the Munich security conference, where he highlighted the recent Adani Group row that followed after the US-based Hindenburg Group report. Speaking on the stock rout of the Adani Group companies, Soros said, "This will significantly weaken Modi's stranglehold on India's federal government and open the door to push for much-needed institutional reforms. I may be naive, but I expect a democratic revival in India."

He also stated that PM Modi will have to answer questions about the allegations against Adani from foreign investors and Parliament.

What is the Munich Security Conference?

The Munich Security Conference was founded by a German official and publisher, Ewald-Heinrich Von Kleist, and has focused primarily on military issues since 1963. According to Financial Times, it was mainly attended by western countries and their top officials, who "came together to display a united front in their struggle with Soviet communism".

After the Cold War, the topic of discussion in these conferences expanded, going beyond defence and security issues to include climate change and migration.

Now, the conference takes place in February every year. According to the conference's website, it "seeks to promote trust and contribute to the peaceful resolution of conflicts by facilitating ongoing, curated, yet informal dialogue within the international security community".