US lawmakers urge Biden to raise human rights issues with Modi

WASHINGTON: Seventy-five Democratic senators and members of the House of Representatives have urged United States President Joe Biden to raise human rights issues with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Washington.

In a letter to Biden, the legislators said they were concerned about the shrinking of political space, rise of religious intolerance, targeting of civil society organisations and journalists and growing restrictions on press freedoms and internet access in India.

“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,” the leaders said.

Modi is in the US for a state visit from June 21 to June 24. He is the third Indian leader after former President S. Radhakrishnan and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to be invited for a state visit by Washington.

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The letter is signed by 18 senators and 57 members of the House of Representatives. Among the signatories are Representative Pramila Jayapal, US Senators Chris Van Hollen, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

During his visit, Modi will address a joint session of the US Congress on June 22. Besides holding talks with Biden, he is scheduled to meet Vice President Kamala Harris, Tesla owner Elon Musk, Nobel Prize winner Paul Romer and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson among others.

In the letter, the Democratic lawmakers said they want US and India to share a “close and warm relationship” but added that friendship should be based on shared values.

“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,” they said.

“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 areas of concern.’

The legislators that Biden had made “made respect for human rights, press freedom, religious freedom, and pluralism core tenets of American foreign policy”.

“In order to advance these values with credibility on the world stage, we must apply them equally to friend and foe alike, just as we work to apply these same principles here in the United States,” they said.