WASHINGTON: Former US President Barack Obama has warned of consequences if New Delhi did not protect minorities in the South Asian country, CNN reported on Thursday. The former President called for the safety of minorities in India as Biden hosts Narendra Modi in Washington.
In an interview with CNN, Obama said that “If you do not protect the rights of minorities in India, then there is a very strong possibility that India at some point starts pulling apart.”
Earlier progressive House Democrats planned to boycott Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to a joint session of Congress to protest against the human rights violations in India.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said that a joint speech is among the most prestigious invitations and honours the US Congress can extend. The opportunity should not be given to individuals with massively disturbing human rights records, especially to individuals whom the US State Department has concluded are engaged in systematic human rights violations of religious minorities and cast-oppressed people, Fox News reported.
Modi’s Congress address
Modi will address Congress on Thursday afternoon after meeting with President Joe Biden and House of Representative Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
However, the president of progressive allies criticizes Modi’s anti-Muslim record and crackdown on media freedom, including raids on BBC offices in India. His regime has been accused of oppressing and endangering nearly 220 million Indian Muslims in the South Asian country.
Representative Rashida Tlaib said that it was shameful to provide a platform to Narendra Modi in the US capital as he has a long history of human rights violations, anti-democratic activities, targeting Muslims and religious minorities, and media. Talib said that she would boycott Modi’s joint speech to Congress as a protest to expose human rights violations in Modi-led government in India.
