Do not underestimate the ingenuity of the Deep State in America to have its way.
Keeping the guard down will be a catastrophic mistake on the part of the Delhi establishment.
We could get hit when least expected. That's what happened in Bangladesh and Syria, warns Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The raging controversy over the Bharatiya Janata Party's allegation that the Congress party leadership is hand in glove with the famous US financier George Soros with an infamous track record of funding the colour revolutions and regime change projects is snowballing.
The Congress may use the floor of Parliament to fuel its public tirades against the government, borne out of the proverbial folklore of Kerala, 'Whether the leaf falls on a thorn or a thorn on a leaf, the leaf is always harmed.'
The Congress calculates that the Modi government and the BJP would be the losers if this controversy remains in focus. These are early days and how all this pans out is hard to tell, as there are many variables in play.
Look at the reticence of the SP and TMC, for instance, to wade into the Adani file. Besides, the BJP is a peerless champion for diversionary tactics in Indian politics.
From the foreign policy angle, the outcome of the slugfest between India's two mainstream parties is going to depend on an 'X' factor, namely, George Soros' clout with the incoming US administration and incoming President Donald Trump's attitude toward the Deep State's advancement of a regime change agenda in Delhi as happened in Bangladesh.
The BJP has quietly backtracked (external link) from its spokesman's accusation at the press conference in New Delhi on December 6 that 'It has always been the US State Department behind this agenda'.
BJP national Spokesperson and MP Dr Sambit Patra directly accused the US State Department of trying to 'destabilise India' and claimed that the US 'Deep State' is working to 'target Prime Minister Narendra Modi'.
'The Deep State had a clear objective to destabilise India by targeting Prime Minister Modi,' the BJP spokesperson reportedly said.
In fact, he anchored on the Deep State and the US State Department the BJP's entire case of Rahul Gandhi being a 'traitor of the highest order' and of the Congress 'conspiring with foreign forces' to derail the government because of their 'hatred' for Modi.
The BJP demanded on the floor of Parliament that Rahul Gandhi ought to be thoroughly investigated for meeting with controversial business tycoon George Soros and some other American officials during his periodic visits to the US who have 'a history of peddling anti-India agenda'.
Of course, this is an explosive charge that could only have been made with clearance (or instructions) from the highest echelons of the BJP and possibly the government.
Surprisingly, however, the BJP subsequently censored the above remarks from its lengthy press release on Dr Patra's remarks.
The bulk of the corporate media also followed suit with self-censorship, a few exceptions apart (external link).
Such backtracking doesn't behoove India's ruling party or our media honchos. It smacks of faint-heartedness and lack of resolve.
This is happening despite the well-known fact that Soros indeed has a long history of acting as the frontman of the US State Department in its regime change projects abroad.
Organisations such as Soros' Open Society Foundations (external link) (founded in 1984) or National Endowment for Democracy (founded in 1983) are to be seen as the US government's 'white gloves' for
- instigating colour revolutions to subvert State power in other countries;
- cultivating pro-US forces in target countries;
- misrepresenting the human rights situation in other countries;
- manipulating and interfering in other countries' elections;
- inciting division and confrontation to undermine the stability of other countries; and,
- fabricating false information to mislead public opinion, using 'academic activities' as a cloak for interference and infiltration.
This is a complex story on which Professor Sreeram Chaulia, at the O P Jindal Global University, had written a well-researched essay titled Democratisation, NGOs and 'colour revolutions' (external link) way back in 2006.
By the way, Soros is also a globalist by conviction who genuinely subscribes the neocon ideology.
He has given to the Foundations over $32 billion of a personal fortune made in the financial markets.
The Foundations are estimated to have $25 billion in assets last year, and amongst worldwide activities, they prioritise 'the current challenges ... of the rise of new forms of authoritarianism' in foreign countries.
Will Trump put Soros out of business? This seems to be the assumption in Delhi, which is predicated on the antipathy between Trump and Soros who had close links with the Democratic Party -- and, conversely, on Trump's jovial attitude toward Modi.
Soros is a formidable adversary who has reportedly earmarked one billion dollars for a regime change in India. He views regime changes not simply as a neocon pastime but also as a business proposition.
In Ukraine, where he funded the Maidan protests and regime change in 2014, he is investing to generate lucrative business (here (external link) and here (external link))
No doubt, what remains to be seen is how Trump sees Soros going forward. It is a complicated story, as Soros has his line open to Trump's inner circle (external link).
There are some straws in the wind. Basically, Trump is a dealmaker who has no permanent friends or allies -- or enemies, for that matter.
The salience of Trump's one hour twenty-six minutes long interview (external link) with NBC News on Sunday, his first after the election victory, is that while he may harshly deal with those officials who misused their authority under President Biden's watch to harass him, humiliate him and hunt him down, he hopes to work with the Democratic party lawmakers in the Congress to carry forward his agenda.
Trump acknowledged the criticality of bipartisan support to make the required constitutional amendments in regard of immigration laws. He even paid tribute to the left wing constituency who voted for him.
Significantly, Alex Soros, George Soros' son, had generously contributed to Kamala Harris' chest, but has since paid a fulsome compliment to Trump.
He wrote on X (external link): 'Too many Democrats are fighting each other over campaign tactics, because it is easier than accepting that Trump was underestimated as a candidate. He was a "super candidate" with increasing appeal to a broader electorate -- likely beyond the reach of both Democrats and Republicans.'
Interestingly, Elon Musk also responded by calling himself the 'George Soros of the middle (external link). I don't want the pendulum to swing too far right, but right now it's just too far left.'
The bottom line is that Trump has made a thoughtful decision to tap Scott Bessent (external link) for the crucial cabinet position of Treasury Secretary.
Bessent's credentials include his stint on a small team at Soros' investment firm through the 1980s that in 1992 helped 'break' the Bank of England with crushing trades against the British pound, having amassed a $10 billion bet that the pound was overvalued.
The New York Times reported (external link), 'Though the British government tried to support the currency, it wasn't able to withstand the pressure, and the pound plunged in value. Mr. Soros's fund earned more than $1 billion, along with credit (and infamy) for orchestrating one of Wall Street's most audacious trades.'
Now, there's nothing Trump loves more than Wall Street's seductive success stories (external link).
'It was Mr Bessent's experience at Mr. Soros's fund -- including another high-profile bet, against the Japanese yen -- that helped define his career, and that his former colleagues and other associates see as a crucial credential' for the cabinet job as Treasury Secretary, the New York Times reported.
And now comes the news that Trump has picked California lawyer Harmeet Kaur Dhillon to head the US Department of Justice's civil rights division and nominated her as assistant attorney general, who, apparently, empathises with pro-Khalistan activists in the US and Canada.
Do not underestimate the ingenuity of the Deep State in America to have its way. Keeping the guard down will be a catastrophic mistake on the part of the Delhi establishment.
We could get hit when least expected. That's what happened in Bangladesh and Syria.
Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty, as they say. Make no mistake, at the end of the day, Trump is a great patriot and nationalist who stands by 'America First' as his chosen dictum.
An equal relationship based on mutual respect is impossible to forge with the US.
Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar served the Indian Foreign Service for 29 years.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
