Speaking at a forum of nationalist thinkers in Hyderabad on Tuesday, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar criticised the Western media for its tendency to criticise Indian democracy on the assumption that it is a political actor in Indian elections, rather than due to a lack of information.
"I get a lot of these noises from the Western press and if they criticize our democracy, it's not because they lack information. It is because they think they are also political players in our election,” Jaishankar asserted.
Jaishankar addressed instances where Western media have questioned the timing of elections in India, particularly during heat waves, stressing that such criticism reflects a misunderstanding of Indian electoral dynamics.
"Now I read that article and I wanted to say listen, in that heat my lowest turnout is higher than your highest turnout in the best run," he added.
"These are politics. These are our domestic politics, which is going global, global politics which feels they must now intrude in India. How can these chaps decide who should be ruling them without consulting us?" he said.
Jaishankar emphasised the need to be confident and resilient in the face of such criticism, which goes beyond electoral systems to include more mundane aspects such as weather conditions.
"The decisions taken by the government go beyond the next five years and are an important vote of confidence for our nation, society and future generations," Jaishankar said.
"It is the guarantee, the guarantee is an expression of confidence. It is an expression of confidence based on what we have delivered for the last ten years," he assured.