S Jaishankar slams Western media over elections: ‘It criticises India’s democracy because…'

External affairs minister and BJP leader S Jaishankar at a press meet.

External affairs minister S Jaishankar hit out at the Western media over its unfair criticism of India saying they act as “political players” in the country’s elections, and not because it lacks information, news agency ANI reported.

Addressing a forum for nationalist thinkers in Hyderabad on Tuesday, S Jaishankar said, “I get a lot of these noises from the Western press and if they criticise our democracy, it’s not because they lack information. It is because they think they are also political players in our election.”

Referring to an article by a foreign media house, Jaishankar said, “I read where some Western media said, it is so hot in India, why are they holding elections at this time? I read that article and I wanted to say, in that heat my lowest turnout is higher than your highest turnout in the best record.”

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Jaishankar alleged that “these are the games that are being played with India”.

Top 5 quotes from S Jaishankar’s speech:

1. “These are politics. These are our domestic politics which is going global, global politics which feels they must now intrude in India. How can these chaps decide who should be ruling them without consulting us?”
2. “They (West) actually think they are part of our electorate… I think it’s time today that we disabuse them and the best way that we do that, is by confidence.”

1. “We need to stand up to these kinds of attacks and criticisms and rankings and reports because they will question everything.”
2. “They will question your election system, your EVM, your election commission, even the weather.”
3. “And one complaint is… The BJP is so unfair, the BJP thinks it’s going to win very big.”

Jaishankar endorses BJP’s gurantees

The EAM said the decisions, this government will be making, are not just for the next five years, and will give India, its society, and the coming generations “a very big vote of confidence”.

“It is the guarantee, the guarantee is an expression of confidence. It is an expression of confidence based on what we have delivered for the last ten years,” Jaishankar said.

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Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Jaishankar said, “It is the combination of all of this and, as I said, the stature which the prime minister personally commands…I see that because I travel with him often.”

Recalling when India got the G20 presidency, Jaishankar said, “When we got our G20 chair presidency, it was on December 1, 2022. I think most of the world said, you know, I don’t know where you guys got stuck. You know how this is going to happen. You are going to have a really difficult time managing this. And yet, actually, when the G20 summit met, within the first day, we were actually able to forge a consensus.”

(With inputs from ANI)

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