Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will not go to India Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to Congress as a protest of his record on human rights abuses.
Modi will be speaking to a joint session of Congress Thursday after meeting with President Joe Biden.
But AOC isn’t the only one skipping out. Fellow progressive Reps. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, the two Muslim women in Congress, said they also won’t be attending the Indian leader’s speech.
A group of 70 lawmakers wrote to the president urging him to address during their discussion surrounding concerns of how Modi has handled human rights of religious minorities and lower castes.
In India, Modi has cracked down on dissents, sparking fears he’s leading the world’s largest democracy toward an autocratic regime.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will boycott India Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to a joint session of Congress on Thursday
President Joe Biden met with PM Modi on Wednesday – as the White House assured that Biden would not lecture Modi on criticism involving human rights violations
‘I will be boycotting Prime Minister Modi’s address to Congress tomorrow, and I encourage my colleagues who stand for pluralism, tolerance, and freedom of the press to join me in doing the same,’ AOC wrote in a statement.
‘In 2005, Narendra Modi was denied a U.S. visa because of his violations of religious freedom, including his complicity in an anti-Muslim riot that left over 1,000 dead,’ she detailed. ‘India currently ranks 161 out of 180 in the World Press Freedom Index – in part due to Modi’s raids on BBC India’s offices and his court challenges against a critical documentary.’
‘A joint address is among the most prestigious invitations and honors the United States Congress can extend,’ AOC noted.
‘We should not do so for individuals with deeply troubling human rights records – particularly for individuals whom our own State Department has concluded are engaged in systematic human rights abuses of religious minorities and caste-oppressed communities.’
Biden rolled out the red carpet for Modi on Wednesday amid assurances from the White House that he would not lecture the Indian prime minister on human rights.
The White House also denied that the visit is regarding the rise in aggression from China.
President Biden, who wants India to be a counter to China in the Indo-Pacific region, won’t confront Modi about the human rights situation that has deteriorated under his leadership.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan previewed before the meeting that Biden would bring up U.S. concerns about democratic backsliding in India, but assured he would not lecture Modi on the subject.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden greet PM Modi at the White House on Wednesday, June 21
AOC said in a statement that ‘a joint address is among the most prestigious invitations and honors the United States Congress can extend,’ and that it should not be awarded to ‘individuals with deeply troubling human rights records’ like Modi
Modi participates in a yoga class during the observation of International Yoga Day on the grounds of United Nations headquarters in New York
When the U.S. sees challenges to press, religious or other freedoms, ‘we make our views known,’ Sullivan said, according to Reuters. He added: ‘We do so in a way where we don’t seek to lecture or assert that we don’t have challenges ourselves.
‘Ultimately, the question of where politics and the question of democratic institutions go in India is going to be determined within India by Indians. It’s not going to be determined by the United States,’ Sullivan said.
Biden has argued for the virtues of democracy over autocracy. And Modi’s record on human rights could put the president in a tough spot as he welcomes the Indian leader with open arms.
‘A series of independent, credible reports reflect troubling signs in India toward the shrinking of political space, the rise of religious intolerance, the targeting of civil society organizations and journalists, and growing restrictions on press freedoms and internet access,’ the 70 lawmakers wrote in a letter to Biden.
President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi chat ahead of a working session on food and energy security during the G20 Summit in 2022
Modi was once denied a visa to the U.S. after riots in 2002 killed more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, in Gujarat – the region where he was chief minister.
To ban Modi, the State Department invoked a little-known U.S. law passed in 1998 that makes foreign officials responsible for ‘severe violations of religious freedom’ ineligible for visas.
But Modi was granted entry to the U.S. after his 2014 election as prime minister.
Modi has been accused of marginalizing Muslims, the Hindu country’s largest minority group. Under Modi, violence against Muslims has become more common. And the prime minister has been criticized for supporting a law that makes it more difficult for Muslim immigrants to become Indian citizens.
The White House also argues publicly that Modi’s visit is not about China.
‘This state visit is not about China. And it’s not about sending a message to China. It really is all about the bilateral relationship with India and fostering that relationship for a future that we believe is very, very great,’ Kirby said.
But China will be an unspoken, underlying thread. The visit comes as India has surpassed China as the world’s most populous nation.
The White House’s courtship of Modi, and its effort to draw India closer on issues of trade, climate and technology, all have the greater goal of countering Beijing’s influence in the region.
Other presidents also have kept India close. Barack Obama visited India during his presidency, as did Donald Trump. Trump also attended a ‘Howdy Modi’ event with the prime minister in Houston.
To help its cause, the Biden White House is honoring Modi with a state dinner – the third of the Biden administration. And while Modi has been to the U.S. five time since becoming prime minister in 2014 this will be his first state visit.
The visit to the U.S. included all the pomp and majesty that comes with the occasion – a colorful arrival ceremony on the White House South Lawn, an Oval Office meeting and a lavish dinner in a glass pavilion built for the occasion.
India Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives for the International Yoga day event at United Nations headquarters
Flags of India and US adorn the Eisenhower Executive Office Building ahead of Modi’s visit
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (right) meets with Elon Musk (left) in New York
The two men held a joint press conference on Wednesday – Modi rarely takes questions from the media.
Before arriving in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, Modi led celebrations for the International Day of Yoga at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
Modi then visited the National Science Foundation with first lady Jill Biden on Wednesday afternoon and is having a private dinner with the first couple later in the evening.
His address to a joint session of Congress will take place Thursday.
Modi is meeting with several U.S. CEOs during his visit to America, including at a Friday reception. On Tuesday he met with Twitter’s Elon Musk in New York.
Biden and Modi are expected to announce a variety of agreements related to defense cooperation and sales, artificial intelligence, quantum computing and investments in India by Micron Technology and other U.S. companies.
The war in the Ukraine will also be on the agenda. India has continued to buy oil and weapons from Russia and has not publicly condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
For his part, Modi is pushing for India a bigger role on the global stage. India, a member of the G20, will host world leaders for the group’s annual meeting in September. And Modi wants his country to have a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk