“Western countries feel that they have influenced this world for the last 200 years. How do you expect someone, who has been in that position, to give up those old habits so easily?” said Jaishankar.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar slammed the western media for its ‘negative coverage’ of the Lok Sabha elections 2024. He said that they want to influence India because that’s their habit and that’s something they have been doing for years.
Speaking at an interaction after the launch of the Bengali edition of his book ‘Why Money Matters’ in Kolkata on Tuesday, said, “They would reputationally damage you, somebody will bring out an index and put you down in that. Countries which have to go to court to decide the result of their election are giving us gyan about how to conduct the election. That is the mind game that is happening in the world.”
According to a report in news agency ANI, Jaishankar said, “Western countries feel that they have influenced this world for the last 200 years. How do you expect someone, who has been in that position, to give up those old habits so easily?”
The minister said that the western countries want a certain class of people at the helm of affairs in India but when the Indian electorate decides differently, they feel disturbed.
“Why are these newspapers so negative on India?” he asked, adding that because India does not comply with their image of how India should be.
Further criticising the western media, Jaishankar said that the openly endorse certain candidates and political parties. “Somebody is doing this dominion game for 300 years, they learn a lot, anubhavi log hai, chatur log hai (they are experienced and clever people),” he said.
Jaishankar said that he is observing the commentary on Indian elections this time too. But look at the percentage of people who have come out to vote in this heat, he said.
The minister’s statements come after Russia accused the US of trying to interfere in the Indian elections. Criticising US’s “neocolonial” mentality, Russia said that US desires to unbalance the internal political situation in India in order to complicate the general parliamentary elections taking place in the country, and is its part of interference in India’s internal affairs. Russian Foreign Ministry official spokesperson Maria Zakharova said this while rubbishing the US’ claims of the involvement of Indian agents in the assassination plot of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.