Jaishankar silences panel after US Senator says ’democracy doesn’t put food on table: ‘Mark of a person who just voted’

When asked about his view on the western democracy, Jaishankar raised his index finger up and flaunted the ink mark on it, which signifies that he has just voted.

“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,” the minister said.

Jaishankar was joined by Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, US Senator Elissa Slotkin and Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowsk at the panel discussion.

“We just had an election in my state (Delhi) just over. Last year, we had a national election. In Indian elections, roughly two-thirds of the eligible voters vote. At the national elections, (out of) the electorate of about 900 million, about 700 million voted. We count the votes in a single day,” he said.

Jaishankar noted that from the time India started voting in the modern era, the voter turnout has risen by 20% than it was decades ago.

He said he had to “differ with” the view that democracy is in trouble globally. “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.”

Democracy doesn’t put food on the table? EAM differs

Jaishankar also took a dig at Senator Slotkin, who was of the opinion that democracy did not put “food on the table”.

“Actually, in my part of the world, it does 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,” he said.

India stayed ‘true’ to democratic model

Jaishankar also said that despite all the ‘challenges’ that India faced, including low income, India “stayed true” to the democratic model.

“When you look at our part of the world, we are pretty much the only country that has done that. So, I think this is something the West should look at because if you do want democracy eventually to prevail, it is important the West also embraces the successful models outside the West,” he said.

He also accused the West of treating “democracy as a Western characteristic” at a point of time, “busy encouraging” non-democratic forces to disrupt the Global South.

“It (West) still does. I can point to some very recent ones where everything that you say you value at home, you don’t practice abroad. So, I do think the rest of the Global South will view the successes, shortcomings and the responses of other countries,” he said.