Please Don't Assume: Jaishankar's Retort to US Senator's 'Democracy Doesn't Put Food on Table' Remark

Munich: India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is currently representing the country at the Munich Security Conference, where he discussed at length, India as a democracy. The EAM also responded sharply, to US Senator Elissa Slotkin's ‘democracy doesn’t put food on the table' remark. 

Please Don’t Assume…: EAM Responds to US Senator's Remark on Democracy

United States Senator, Elissa Slotkin had made a remark on global democracies, especially mentioning India, that ‘democracy does not put food on the table'. 

Responding to Elissa Slotkin, S Jaishankar said, “Senator you said that democracy doesn't put food on your table. Actually, in my part of the world, it does because it actually, today because we are a democratic society, we give nutrition support, and food to 800 million people and for whom that is a matter of how healthy they are and how full their stomachs are. So, the point I want to make is look different parts of the world are going through different conversations. Please do not assume that this is a kind of universal phenomenon, it is not."

He further added, “There are parts where it is working well, maybe there are parts where its not and the parts which are not, I think people need to have honest conversations about why it is not but I would argue that as to an extent as someone dispassionately viewing it, which was your question, there are some problems, a lot of it is a accumulated problem of the model of globalisation that we have followed for the last 25-30 years. I think a lot of chickens have come home to roost. So, yes there are issues but from our point of view today not all over the world but let's not make that universal.”

S Jaishankar on Western Democracy

When asked about his views regarding Western democracy, Jaishankar said, "Well before I do that, I appeared to be an optimist in what is relatively a pessimistic panel, if not room. I will begin by sticking up my finger and don't take it badly, it is the index finger. This, the mark you see on my nail, is a mark of a person who has just voted. We just had an election in my state just over. Last year, we had a national election. In Indian elections, roughly two-thirds of the eligible voters vote. At the national elections, the electorate of about 900 million, about 700 million voted. We count the votes in a single day."

"Nobody disputes the result after it's announced and by the way, from the time we started voting in the modern era, 20 per cent of people more vote today than they did decades ago. So, the first message is that somehow democracy is in trouble globally, worldwide, I am sorry, I have to differ with it. I mean, right now, we are living well. We are voting well. We are optimistic about the direction of our democracy and for us democracy is actually delivered," he added.

The 61st Munich Security Conference (MSC) is being held in Germany's Munich from February 14-16. The MSC 2025 will offer an unparalleled platform for high-level debates on the key foreign and security policy challenges of time. 

(Inputs from ANI)