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 has been invited to speak to a joint session of the US Congress on 22nd June. Both the lawmakers gave the reason for such a decision to be the gross human rights violations in India.
Ilhan Omar announced her decision through social media and said, “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.” Ilhan Omar represents Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District in the US House of Representatives, and is the first African refugee to become a member of Congress.
Another lawmaker, Rashida Tlaib, said on Tuesday that she will be boycotting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to Congress. She tweeted, “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.
More than 70 Democrats from both the House of Representatives and the Senate wrote a letter to President Joe Biden to discuss the need for the protection of human rights and democratic values in India as he meets with Modi. Biden will be hosting the Indian Prime Minister on Thursday, and Modi is also expected to address the US Congress.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the US’s largest Muslim advocacy group, urged the leaders of the Congress to cancel Modi’s address, earlier this month. According to them, Modi’s address “sends the message that repressing Christians, Muslims, Dalits, Sikhs and other faith minorities is not an issue for the U.S. Congress.” They also said, “Modi’s anti-democratic policies, such as smothering critical journalism, are also the opposite of what the U.S. Congress should be seen as celebrating. If the Joint Meeting occurs, we plan to urge Members to boycott it.”
A U.S. panel also recommended that the State Department designate India among others as “countries of particular concern” for violating religious freedoms.
