George Soros ‘is a crazy nut’, addled by age: K.P. Singh of DLF

Chairman and CEO of real estate developer DLF Limited Kushal Pal Singh during an interview with PTI, in New Delhi on Saturday, February 18, 2023.
| Photo Credit: PTI

A “crazy nut” and an aged “barking dog” is how real estate doyen K.P. Singh described billionaire financier George Soros, who caused an outrage in India after saying the Adani-Hindenburg turmoil would lead to weakening of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s grip on power.

Mr. Singh, who helmed India’s biggest listed private real estate company DLF Ltd and is known for plain-speaking, said in an interview with PTI that India has got the best democratically elected Prime Minister, who has been elected with thumping majority not once but twice.

“When you do something well, so many dogs bark. Do you respond to each dog? No. Dogs bark but quieten after some time,” he said.

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On comments made by Mr. Soros at the Munich Security Conference, he said, “The fact of the matter is that when you rise others try to pull you down.”

“He is a crazy nut, completely,” he said.

“Although he is younger than me. I am 93 [and he is 92] but at that age there is sometimes confused thinking, by nature,” he said in an hour-long interview where he spoke lucidly about a wide range of topics including urbanisation to his love for golf and art.

Mr. Soros had stated on Thursday that “PM Modi and business tycoon Mr. Adani are close allies; their fate is intertwined” and the conglomerate’s troubles following allegations of fraud by a U.S. short-seller would “significantly weaken Mr. Modi’s stranglehold on India’s federal government” and “open the door to push for much needed institutional reforms”.

The ruling BJP on Friday accused Mr. Soros of trying to undermine India’s democracy.

Mr. Singh said Ministers from the government and the ruling party have aptly responded to Mr. Soros’ comments.

Mr. Soros, he said, is “nothing” and his “nonsense” comments can in no way undermine the democracy in the country.

Asked what he would tell Mr. Soros if he were to meet him, Mr. Singh said, “I will say you are horribly wrong. I will say that India has got the best democratically elected Prime Minister. I would say in which democracy so many votes have come to a Prime Minister, not once [but] twice [in democratic elections].”

Without commenting on the motives behind the comments by Mr. Soros, the chairman emeritus of DLF said, “Is he feeling jealous of him [Mr. Modi]?”

“Can India be governed by a heterogeneous government?” he asked. “India needs a strong-willed person that’s why votes are given to him. Who the hell is he? What George Soros got to do with it. Completely nonsense.”

Apples-to-airports conglomerate Adani Group has been under severe pressure since the U.S. short-seller Hindenburg Research on January 24 accused it of accounting fraud and stock manipulation, allegations that the conglomerate has denied as “malicious”, “baseless” and a “calculated attack on India”.

The group’s listed firms together lost about $125 billion in market value in three weeks before some stocks made recovery in the last couple of days.