The Battle Lines in the United States appear to have been drawn. While Narendra Modi heaped praises on his counterpart Donald Trump at the ‘Howdy Modi’ event in Houston and said ‘Ab ki baar Trump Sarkar, major Democrat donor, George Soros, met with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.
https://twitter.com/LodhiMaleeha/status/1175813368730378240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The meeting between Imran Khan and George Soros has significant ramifications for the Indo-US relationship. Pakistan is a sworn enemy of India, a terror state that was condemned by Narendra Modi at the ‘Howdy Modi’ event in no mean terms. A major donor of one of the political parties meeting with Imran Khan at such a moment is bad optics for the Democrat party.
It is a known fact that Soros has interfered in the internal affairs of various countries across the world through his NGOs to achieve his political objectives. The Hungarian government made it mandatory for NGOs that received funding from abroad to register with the state, a move that was seen to be targeted towards Soros which did not go down well with the European Union.
The Hungarian also passed legislation titled ‘Stop Soros’ in a crackdown on illegal immigration. In December 2015, Russia banned two foundations funded by the progressive Jewish-American philanthropist George Soros, claiming they posed a “threat to national security” and were undermining the Russian constitution.
In India, the Human Rights Law Network (HRLN), an FCRA registered NGO that receives funds from George Soros’ Open Society Institute, has been working actively to interfere with the internal affairs of India. As we have reported earlier, the HRLN is part of a campaign to abolish sedition laws in India. Organizations associated the CDRO such as PUCL, PUDR, APDR, CPDR and APCLC which have extensive links to ‘Urban Naxals’ are part of the same campaign.
Moreover, HRLN is also part of the ongoing slander campaign against Akshaya Patra. The HRLN has been providing free legal aid to Rohingya detainees across the country. The network has filed PILs related to the implementation of the RTE Act. The HRLN is also connected to COHR, Manipur, an organization that harbours separatist inclinations through its Manipur unit. Thus, we see that HRLN, an organization that receives funds from George Soros’ NGO, has been attempting to meddle in the internal politics of the country.
George Soros’ links to Indian affairs does not stop there. The French NGO, Sherpa, which filed a complaint against the Rafale deal in France is partners with George Soros’ Open Society Institute among others. George Soros also has links to the Leftist protest against CJI Gogoi in a case of alleged sexual harassment. The apex court had expressed its disappointment over the “systematic attack” on the judiciary and had observed that it was time to tell the rich and powerful of this country that they are “playing with fire”. A “larger conspiracy” was also hinted at.
Under such circumstances, George Soros meeting with Imran Khan would have certainly sent the alarm bells ringing within the Indian establishment. Furthermore, combined with the kind of comments Democrats have been making on Kashmir, the Indian establishment no doubt saw a clear partisan divide within the US with respect to Kashmir.
One can safely say that Hillary Clinton’s attacks on Narendra Modi prior to 2014, George Soros’ interference with the internal affairs of India and the recent comments made by prominent Democrats contributed to the message that Narendra Modi sent out to the US political establishment from Houston. George Soros’ meeting with Imran Khan could further alienate the Democrats from the Indian administration.