‘Which democracy entices the chief of a rogue army…’: Mahesh Jethmalani on Navarro’s ‘largest democracy’ remark

Which leader of a democracy seeks support from an Army Chief who masterminded a deadly terrorist attack for a Nobel Peace Prize, asked senior advocate at the Supreme Court and former Rajya Sabha MP Mahesh Jethmalani. The lawyer says with his take on PM Modi meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro is at his “audacious worst”.

“Some musings on his mindless rhetoric: 1. Wither US democracy when its President entices the Chief of Staff of a rogue Army (that trains and exports jihadi terrorism) into bed with a dubious sweetheart deal under a cosy cryptocurrency blanket? 2. Which leader of a true democracy seeks a recommendation from an Army Chief who has just masterminded a most heinous terrorist attack on innocent civilian men in front of their wives and children for a Nobel Peace Prize?” asked Jethmalani in response to Navarro asking how the world’s largest democracy could get in bed with authoritarian states like China and Russia.

He asked which responsible executive head of a democratic state usurps the powers of levying taxes and tariff when these belong to the legislature in the US.

“In any event, dear trade adviser, international trade is about the comity of nations and upholding WTO law (which the US itself has subverted) and while democracy is the ideal to be preferred for all countries, US democracy is for the present pretty far removed from that ideal,” he said.

Peter Navarro, who has been aiming one attack after another on India, said it was a “shame” to see PM Modi meeting Putin and Xi Jinping. “I'm not sure what he's thinking. We hope he comes around to seeing that he needs with us and not Russia,” he said.

The adviser’s incessant attacks have pushed the US-India ties to a precarious spot. On top of that, US imposed 50 per cent tariff on India, and the trade deal also has been stalled.