Days after US-based watchdog ‘Freedom House’ downgraded India’s stat us from ‘free’ to ‘partly free’, Union Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar slammed the agenda-driven report during the India Today Conclave South on Saturday. His comments also come at the backdrop of the recent V-Dem Institute report that downgraded India’s status from a ‘democracy’ to ‘an electoral autocracy.’
On being asked by India Today journalist Rahul Kanwal about the decline in the country’s status on the freedom index, EAM S Jaishankar emphasised, “You used the dichotomy of democracy and autocracy. (Do) you want a truthful answer? It is hypocrisy. We have a set of self-appointed custodians of the world who find it very difficult to stomach that somebody in India is not looking for their approval…They invent their rules, their parameters, pass their judgements and make it look as though it is some kind of global exercise.”
S Jaishankar pointed out that all such agenda-driven reports refer to the BJP as a ‘Hindu nationalist party.’ He emphasised, “We are the nationalist guys. We have given vaccines to 70 countries in the world. Tell me (about) the internationalist countries. How many vaccines have then given? Which one of these countries have said that while I do (vaccinate) my own people, I will do (inoculate) other people who need it as much as we do. Where are these people?”
I am self assured about my country, I don’t need certificate from other countries who clearly have some agenda: @DrSJaishankar
— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) March 13, 2021
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The Union External Affairs Minister said that the Indian government is accused of shrinking civil liberties whereas the ground reality is much further from such baseless claims. “Whatever you may say, in this country, nobody questions an election. Can you say that in those countries?” His remarks were directed at the United States, where skepticism about the 2020 Presidential Election results is still rife.
S Jaishankar added, “All of us are entitled to our beliefs, our faith and values. I do not put my hand on a religious book when I take my oath of office. Guess which country does?” His comments were again directed at the US, where the President takes the oath of office by placing one hand on the Bible and not the Constitution. “I am self-assured about my country. I don’t need a certificate from other countries who clearly have some agenda to drive,” he concluded.
‘Freedom House’ funded by US government, has ties with George Soros
Earlier, Freedom House had downgraded India’s status from ‘free’ to ‘partly free’. It claimed, “India’s status declined from Free to Partly Free due to a multiyear pattern in which the Hindu nationalist government and its allies have presided over rising violence and discriminatory policies affecting the Muslim population and pursued a crackdown on expressions of dissent by the media, academics, civil society groups, and protesters”.
According to its 2016 financial statement, Freedom House generated 86% of its revenue from the US government itself. In 2019, the funding of the Freedom House organisation by the US government went up to 94%. Interestingly, while Freedom House itself is funded wholly by the US government, their website claims that this report itself is not funded by any government. Open Society Foundation, run by notorious billionaire George Soros also lists Freedom House as one of their allies.
V-Dem organisation has JNU leftists and Pakistani politicians on its Board
In its latest report published by a Swedish institute named V-Dem, it had declared that India was no longer a democracy. The organisation claimed that India had turned into “an electoral autocracy”, as the country’s democratic process had been ‘on a path of steep decline’. According to V-Dem, India ‘lost’ its status of electoral democracy, and became an electoral autocracy.
While liberals wanted the people to believe that V-Dem is a ‘prestigious’ organisation and the Indian government should take its verdict seriously, the facts present a different picture. a glance at the members of International Advisory Board organisation shows its anti-India bias. The board has two Indians, and both are known haters of the Modi government. They are Centre for Policy Research Chairman Pratap Bhanu Mehta and JNU professor Nirja Gopal Jayal. Another member of the advisory board is a Pakistani national, lawyer-politician Aitzaz Ahsan.
