Jaishankar tells West to practice what they preach

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has flagged the "double standards" of the West over its view on global democracy, pointing out Western leaders treated democracy as a "Western characteristic". He urged them to embrace the successful models of non-Western countries.

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Taking a dig at the Western countries for treating democracy as a "Western characteristic", he accused them of not practicing abroad what they valued at home.

Jaishankar made these remarks on Friday at a panel discussion titled "Live to Vote Another Day: Fortifying Democratic Resilience" at the Munich Security Conference.

He also said that "if you do want democracy eventually to prevail, it's important the West also embraces successful models (democracy) outside the West."

Speaking in the presence of the Western leaders, including a US Senator, Jaishankar said that the West treated democracy as a "Western characteristic" and had been busy encouraging "non-democratic forces" in the Global South.

Apart from Jaishankar, the panel comprised Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, US Senator Elissa Slotkin and Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski.

During the panel discussion, Jaishankar said the countries of the Global South are more likely to relate and say that the “Indian experience is more transposable to their societies than perhaps to those of others”.