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| Edited By: DNA Web Team |Source: DNA Web Desk |Updated: Oct 16, 2022, 08:38 AM IST
In an attempt to defame India and spread a fake narrative against the country, Indian-origin Ramachandran Viswanathan ran an alleged smear campaign against the central government run by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, attracting heavy flak.
In an advertisement run in the Wall Street Journal, Devas scam accused Ramachandran Viswanathan urged the United States administration to impose sanctions on Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Supreme Court justices, and several important parts of the Indian democracy under America’s Magnitsky Act.
Viswanathan claimed that these 11 officials, which are a part of the Indian government and administration, have been promoting “corruption” and “human rights violations” against the citizens of the country, as per media reports.
The Devas scam fugitive took out a full-page advertisement against the Indian government in the WSJ on October 13, claiming that FM Sitharaman and other officials named in the ad have “decimated the rule of law by weaponizing the institutions of the state to settle scores with political and business rivals, making India unsafe for investors.”
Shameful weaponisation of American media by fraudsters.
This shocernment appeared in @WSJ .
Do you know who is behind this and similar ads?
This ad campaign is being run by fugitive Ramachandra Vishwanathan, who was the CEO of Devas.
n1 pic.twitter.com/o7EWFmMsSR — KanchanKanchanGupta) October 15, 2022
Who is Ramachandran Viswanathan?
Ramachandran Viswanathan is an Indian-origin businessman who is a citizen of the United States (US). Viswanathan was the CEO of a company names Devas, and has been dubbed a fugitive in India, as per the statements of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Devas CEO Ramachandran Viswanathan is being investigated for money laundering in India by the ED and has been dubbed as a “fugitive economical offender” by the central agency. Viswanathan is also the prime accused in the Devas scam in India.
In 2004, the Devas CEO founded his company to provide satellite-based multimedia services, signing multiple deals to build satellites. Once the 2G scam was uncovered by the authorities, Ramachandran was one of the accused in the case, charged with money laundering.
Now, Viswanathan has launched an anti-India campaign in an effort to defame the country on an international front, launching allegations against FM Nirmala Sitharaman and other government officials in the country.
Apart from the Union Finance Minister, other people named in the advertisement are Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, Additional Solicitor General N Venkataraman, and Supreme Court Judges Hemant Gupta and V Ramasubramanian. Top Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials have also been named in the list.
