Billionaire George Soros slams Modi govt, says India saw biggest setback over nationalism

Hungarian-born US investor and philanthropist George Soros has slammed the Modi government saying nationalism is making headway and the "biggest setback" was seen in India.

While addressing an event at the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, he said, "Nationalism, far from being reversed, made further headway. The biggest and most frightening setback occurred in India where a democratically elected Narendra Modi is creating a Hindu nationalist state, imposing punitive measures on Kashmir, a semi-autonomous Muslim region, and threatening to deprive millions of Muslims of their citizenship."

The billionaire investor also slammed United States President Donald Trump and described the US leader as a "conman and the ultimate narcissist." He said that the current surge in economic strength for the United States may have come too soon for the US leader as he faces re-election later this year.

"Trump... has managed to overheat an already buoyant economy. An overheated economy can't be kept at the boiling point for too long," warned Soros, credited with correctly predicting major market swings in his career as an investor.

"If all this happened close to the election it would have assured his election. His problem is that the election is still 10 months away and, in a revolutionary situation, that's a lifetime."

But Soros also expressed particular alarm over Xi Jinping, who he said had broken with Communist Party tradition by concentrating power around himself, with the Chinese economy losing its previous flexibility.

While Xi Jinping "became a dictator as soon as he gained sufficient strength" his "success is far from assured" as demographics caused by the one child policy work against China.

(With inputs from agencies)