Washington: Prime Minister Narendra Modi faces huge criticism during three-day state visit, while talking to the CNN the former President of the US, Barack Obama said “India may start “pulling apart” if the government does not protect the rights of its ethnic minorities, If a US president meets with Modi, the “protection of the Muslim minority in a majority-Hindu India” is worth mentioning.”
“If I had a conversation with Mr. Modi who I know well-part of my argument would be that if you do not protect the rights of ethnic minorities in India, then there is a strong possibility India at some point starts pulling apart. And we’ve seen what happens when you start getting those kinds of large internal conflicts,” he added.
Watch this video from 2.36 mins – There’s a message Mr Modi’s friend ‘Barack’ has for him.
Guess he’s also a part of an international conspiracy against Mr Modi? At least that’s what the bhakts would allege!
— Supriya Shrinate (@SupriyaShrinate) June 22, 2023
The first five south Asians who were elected to the New York city castigate PM’s visit to the US, NYC assembly member Zohran Mamdani and council members Shekhar Krishna and Shahana Hanif in an joint statement issued said, “As three of the first South Asians ever elected to New York City and State government, we are appalled by the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to our city.”
“From his record as the Chief Minister of Gujarat, where he incited deadly riots against Muslims, to his actions as Prime Minister, which include jailing protesters, censoring journalists, and seeking to erase religious minorities from the civic and cultural fabric of India, Modi is reshaping the nation from a secular democracy into a rightwing Hindu nationalist state.” they added
They went on saying “Prime Minister Modi’s oppressive and unjust policies run counter to all of the values that New York City holds dear. We call on our fellow New Yorkers and elected officials representing this great city to join us in denouncing this visit.”
As three of the first South Asians ever elected to New York City and State government, @ShahanaFromBK, @ZohranKMamdani, and I are appalled by the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to our city: pic.twitter.com/46jM1XPhTX
— Shekar Krishnan (@voteshekar) June 21, 2023
The United States representative Jamie Raskin along with two congresswomen boycotted the event, Rashida Tlaib and Omar Ilhan, congresswomen along with other representatives released a joint statement on boycotting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s joint address to Congress:
“It is shameful to honor these abuses by allowing Modi to address a joint session of Congress. We refuse to participate in it and will be boycotting the joint address. We stand in solidarity with the communities that have been harmed by Modi and his policies. We must never sacrifice human rights at the altar of political expediency and we urge all Members of Congress who profess to stand for freedom and democracy to join us in boycotting this embarrassing spectacle.” said the joint statement.
It’s shameful that Modi has been given a platform at our nation’s capital—his long history of human rights abuses, anti-democratic actions, targeting Muslims & religious minorities, and censoring journalists is unacceptable.
I will be boycotting Modi’s joint address to Congress.
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) June 20, 2023
On June 23, daughter of the incarcerated police officer Sanjiv Bhat, Aakashi Bhat addressed a demonstration against PM Modi in Washington, USA said “Today when we are standing here talking about democracy, I think people outside the country do not properly understand that democracy as we know it in India has ceased to exist. All the pillars of democracy in the country have been destroyed by this regime, the Judiciary and the media are used as tool to specifically target the dissents and to silence the voices of truth.”
Also some trucks were seen in Time Square carrying the hoardings in solidarity of jailed Indian student activist and questioning the current Minister of USA Joe Biden.
During an press meet held by PM Modi and President Biden, several question were raised by the prime journalists to the dignitaries, including questions related to minority safety and freedom of speech and expression in India, to which PM Modi responded, “Democracy is in our DNA, It is our spirit. It is in our veins, We live democracy….. We don’t discriminate on any basis.”
seventy five senators had signed a letter against PM Modi before his state visit, they also urged President Biden to discuss the importance of Protecting human rights and democratic values in India prior PM Modi’s state visit, later one among the seventy senators, the Indo-American lawmaker Pramila Jayapal was seen applauding and giving PM standing ovation post PM addressed the US congressmen.
Today, @SenVanHollen & I are leading over 70 of our colleagues in calling on @POTUS to address India’s human rights record with PM Modi. We must ensure freedom of the press, religious tolerance, internet access, & the diversity of political thought. https://t.co/ezUxX4aaYK
— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) June 20, 2023
