‘Don’t need gyaan from others on how to hold polls’ — S Jaishankar refuses to be ‘compliant’ with West

At the launch of the Bengali edition of his book ‘Why Bharat matters’, EAM Jaishankar accuses the West of trying to ‘influence’ ongoing Lok Sabha polls, calls it an ‘old habit’.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar at the launch of the Bengali translation of his book 'Why Bharat matters' in Kolkata | Credit: @DrSJaishankar

Kolkata: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has accused the foreign media and the West of trying to “influence” Lok Sabha elections, saying that India didn’t need “gyaan from countries who have to go to court to decide their poll result”.

Continuing with his tirade, Jaishankar also criticised Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for jeopardising bilateral ties with India over claims that the Narendra Modi government was involved in the killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Speaking at an event in Kolkata Tuesday, he said: “Many of these countries feel they have influenced the world for the last 70-80 years, and the Western countries feel they have influenced the world for the last 200-300 years. How do you think someone who has been in that position would give up the old habits so easily? There is a natural desire”.

Without naming the United States, the minister said sharply: “Countries who have to go to court to decide the result of their election are giving you gyaan (lecture) about how to conduct your election. This is the mind games taking place in the world”.

Earlier in March, the US Supreme Court ruled that it could not bar former president Donald Trump from appearing on primary ballots by using a Constitutional amendment. By doing so, it reversed a December order by Colorado’s top court, which ruled that Trump couldn’t run for office in its territory for his alleged role in the January 2021 attack on the Capitol.

On voter turnout, Canada and Western media

Jaishankar lauded the voter turnout at the ongoing Lok Sabha polls despite the unprecedented heat across the country.

“We all have our arguments till the day the votes are counted. After that, let us look at our own record. We all have faith in the system. In our heart of hearts, the greatest strength of our system proves that our system works — the number of elections, the governments change in this country, the party hands ove­­­r power to another party, they all find a way of working together,” he said.

But it isn’t just the U.S. that the minister spoke about — he also criticised Canada over after its prime minister alleged the potential involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Nijjar, chief of pro-Khalistan outfit Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), and then a wanted, designated terrorist in India, was shot dead by two assailants outside a gurdwara in Surrey in Canada’s British Columbia last June. Trudeau’s remarks, made in Canadian Parliament last year, sparked a major diplomatic row with India.

Jaishankar was critical of the foreign media’s “negative portrayal” of India. The remarks come after an investigative report in the Washington Post last month cites sources in the American government and US intelligence to claim that a RAW officer, Vikram Yadav, was involved in the alleged plot to assassinate Sikh extremist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the US.

“Since India doesn’t comply with their (foreign media’s) image of how it should be, they reputationally damage (it). This has been a big part of the debate between the World and India,” Jaishankar said.