'They are private matters': Antony Blinken on Hindenburg report on Adani, Soros' comment on India

The Hindenburg report on Adani Group and George Soros' comments will not affect India-America relations, visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday. Blinken is on a three-day visit to India to attend G20 Summit. On Thursday, he met with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar.

When asked whether there was any discussion on Hindenburg Research's report on Adani Group and Hungarian-American businessman George Soros' comments on India, Blinken said they were not discussed as they were private matters.

"It wasn’t discussed and I think for a very good reason," he said in an exclusive conversation with India Today. "These are private matters concerning private companies, and private citizens and they don’t affect the relationship between the United States and India - government to government. And the work we’re both doing, both directly bilaterally, but also here at the G20 in support of india’s leadership."

Also read: 'Old, dangerous, rich': S Jaishankar's not-so-kind description of George Soros

In January, US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research came out with a damaging report on the Adani Group, alleging that the Indian behemoth indulged in stock manipulation and fraud using shell firms. The report caused massive selloffs in Adani stocks, wiping off the significant wealth of group chairman Gautam Adani.

Weeks later, George Soros, a controversial investor, said that the Adani incident will open the door for democratic revival in India and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have to answer to the global investors. "Modi and business tycoon Adani are close allies; their fate is intertwined," Soros said while delivering a speech at the 2023 Munich Security Conference.

"Adani Enterprises tried to raise funds in the stock market, but he failed. Adani is accused of stock manipulation and his stock collapsed like a house of cards. Modi is silent on the subject, but he will have to answer questions from foreign investors and in parliament," 92-year-old George Soros added.

The Centre and BJP hit back at Soros calling him an economic war criminal. Leading the attack from the BJP, Smriti Irani said Soros is the same man who broke the Bank of England and who is designated as an economic war criminal. He has now expressed his desire to break the Indian democracy, she said during a press conference.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, too, reacted sharply to Soros' comments and said the billionaire investor is an "old, rich, opinionated and dangerous" person. "Such people actually invest resources in shaping narratives," the EAM said.  
 

Watch: BJP slams Billionaire Investor George Soros For Comments On PM Modi