Can’t take foreign reports at face value: EAM on claims of democracy sliding

New Delhi, January 2

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Hitting out at sections that have talked of democracy indicators sliding in India, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that there is no need to necessarily take what comes in the foreign media at face value and that there are “multiple standards” that are practised.

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In an interview with ANI, Jaishankar said in one of the chapters in his new book “Why Bharat Matters”, he has talked of Prime Minister Narendra Modi feeling “the need for a new construct” after the BJP-led government came to power in 2014. Asked about articles in foreign media about an assertive India at one level and, at another, of democracy indicators sliding, Jaishankar said he had made some references to the “democracy narrative” and that was also a “mind game”.

“Just look at it this way. There are people who apparently feel more confident of their support outside India, and inside India, they get support from outside India. So we have this constant barrage. We’ve had this from 2014, it increased up to 2019.

I’m sure it will become very shrill as we lead up to the summer of 2024… they will constantly say you are less of a democracy. They’ll pick what they believe are flaws or failings that we have. Again, we must have the confidence to judge it,” Jaishankar said.

The minister said he was not saying that there was no room for improvement in India’s democracy. “I’m not saying we’re perfect. I’m not saying we don’t have room for improvement. Everybody does. We certainly do. But I would say, please look at their motive and their agenda. They are not agenda-less, they are not motive-less, they are trying to push a certain line because they have a certain interest, so don’t necessarily take what comes in foreign media at face value….

“You are talking of state of democracy in this country… give me any yardstick of democracy. Are your elections fair, is your participation growing? Are broader and broader sections involved, are your institutions working? I would say I am doing as well as any other democracy,” Jaishankar added. —