Is Modi govt so feeble it can be toppled by stray statement of a 92-year-old: Chidambaram on Soros

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday said labelling remarks by George Soros as an 'attempt to topple the democratically elected government in India'  was a puerile statement.

He wondered if the Modi government was "so feeble" that it can be toppled by a stray statement of a 92-year-old rich foreign national.

Chidambaram's statement came after the BJP reacted angrily to remarks made by Soros on Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Munich Security conference, alleging that Soros was targeting the Indian democratic system so that people "hand-picked" by him get to run the government here.

"The people of India will determine who will be in and who will be out of the government of India. I did not know that the Modi government was so feeble that it can be toppled by the stray statement of a 92-year-old rich foreign national," Chidambaram said in a series of tweets.

He also alleged that the Modi government's policies have created oligopolies instead of ushering in competition.

"I did not agree with most of what George Soros had said in the past and I do not agree with most of what he says now. But to label his remarks as an 'attempt to topple the democratically elected government in India'  is a puerile statement," Chidambaram noted.

"Ignore George Soros and listen to Nouriel Roubini.  Roubini warned that India is 'increasingly driven by large private conglomerates that can potentially hamper competition and kill new entrants'," he said.

The former finance minister said Liberalisation was to usher in an open, competitive economy.

"The Modi government's policies have created oligopolies," he said.

In his remarks, Soros had said the turmoil engulfing industrialist Gautam Adani's business empire may open the door to a democratic revival in India.

The Congress on Friday said whether the Adani issue will spark a democratic revival in the country depends entirely on the grand old party and other opposition parties, and has nothing to do with billionaire investor George Soros.