Two lawmakers from the United States of America (USA) Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib have announced that they will be boycotting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s joint congressional address during his state visit. PM Modi is on a two-nation trip to the US and Egypt between June 21 and 25, during which he has been invited to speak to a joint session of the US Congress on June 22. Both the lawmakers have cited the gross human rights violations in India as the reason for their decision.
Ilhan Omar, who represents Minnesota's 5th Congressional District in the US House of Representatives, and the first African refugee to become a member of Congress, took to social media to announce her decision. “Prime Minister Modi’s government has repressed religious minorities, emboldened violent Hindu nationalist groups, and targeted journalists/human rights advocates with impunity. I will NOT be attending Modi’s speech. I WILL be holding a briefing with human rights groups to discuss Modi’s record of repression and violence,” she said.
Prime Minister Modi’s government has repressed religious minorities, emboldened violent Hindu nationalist groups, and targeted journalists/human rights advocates with impunity.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) June 20, 2023
I will NOT be attending Modi’s speech.
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib said, “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 and religious minorities, and censoring journalists is unacceptable. I will be boycotting Modi’s joint address to Congress.” Tlaib is the Congresswoman for Michigan’s 12th Congressional District.
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.
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) June 20, 2023
I will be boycotting Modi’s joint address to Congress.
Meanwhile, more than 70 Democratic members of the US Congress urged President Joe Biden in a joint letter to raise "areas of concern" in his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will host Prime Minister Modi at a state dinner on Thursday, June 22.
"As longtime supporters of a strong US-India relationship, we also believe that friends can and should discuss their differences in an honest and forthright way," the lawmakers said in the letter, adding, "That is why we respectfully request that – in addition to the many areas of shared interests between India and the US – you also raise directly with Prime Minister Modi the areas of concern."
They added, "Credible reports reflect troubling signs in India toward the shrinking of political space, the rise of religious intolerance, the targeting of civil society organisations, and journalists, and growing restrictions on press freedom and internet access." The joint letter was led by Pramila Jayapal, an Indian-American leader of the Progressive Caucus of the Democratic party in the House of Representatives, and Senator Chris Van Hollen, who went to school in India for a few years. They were joined among others by Senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Richard Durbin; and Representatives Jerrold Nadler, Grace Meng, Elissa Slotkin, Seth Moulton, Linda Sanchez, and Maxwell Frost.
The lawmakers also cited US reports to underscore their concerns: "The State Department's 2022 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in India documents the tightening of political rights and expression. Similarly, the State Department's 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom in India details the worrisome increase in religious intolerance towards minorities and religiously motivated violence by both private and state actors." They further cited Reporters Without Borders to say that "India, a country that has been known in the past for its vibrant and independent press, has fallen significantly in the rankings for press freedom".
They added that Access Now, which tracks curbs on internet access, rates India as first in terms of the most internet shutdowns for the fifth year in a row. The lawmakers wrote, "We want a close and warm relationship between the people of the United States and the people of India. We want that friendship to be built not only on our many shared interests, but also on shared values."
They also said, "We do not endorse any particular Indian leader or political party – that is the decision of the people of India – but we do stand in support of the important principles that should be a core part of American foreign policy."
(With IANS inputs)
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