Several progressive Democrats from the “Squad” are boycotting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s address to a joint session of Congress on Thursday as human rights organizations continue to condemn India‘s treatment of minorities and political opponents.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) tweeted on Wednesday afternoon that she would “encourage my colleagues who stand for pluralism, tolerance, and freedom of the press to join me in doing the same.”
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“A joint address is among the most prestigious invitations and honors the United States Congress can extend,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “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.”
Ocasio-Cortez’s comments stem from accusations leveled at Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, which has allegedly discriminated against India’s large Muslim minority. Modi himself was accused in 2002 of being complicit in sectarian violence that resulted in the death of 1,000 Muslims while he served as chief minister of Gujarat, according to the Independent.
Opponents and critics argue Modi allegedly stood by while Hindu mobs terrorized India’s Muslim population as retaliation for the deaths of a Hindu pilgrim group. However, Modi was later cleared by a team appointed by the Indian Supreme Court.
Fellow “Squad” members Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN), who are Muslim, are joining Ocasio-Cortez in boycotting Modi’s address.
Tlaib said Congress giving Modi a platform was “shameful.”
“His long history of human rights abuses, anti-democratic actions, targeting Muslims & religious minorities, and censoring journalists is unacceptable,” Tlaib tweeted. “I will be boycotting Modi’s joint address to Congress.”
“Prime Minister Modi’s government has repressed religious minorities, emboldened violent Hindu nationalist groups, and targeted journalists/human rights advocates with impunity,” Omar echoed via Twitter. “I will NOT be attending Modi’s speech.”
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.
I will be boycotting Modi’s joint address to Congress.
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) June 20, 2023
Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) will also not be in attendance at the joint session of Congress.
“Prime Minister Modi has a shameful history of committing human rights abuses, undermining democracy, and targeting journalists,” Bush tweeted. “In solidarity with the communities that have been harmed by Modi and his policies, I will be boycotting his joint address to Congress.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-IV) called on President Joe Biden to raise concerns about Modi’s actions during his meeting with the prime minister.
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“Prime Minister Modi’s government has cracked down on the press and civil society, jailed political opponents, and pushed an aggressive Hindu nationalism that leaves little space for India’s religious minorities,” Sanders said. “President Biden should raise these facts in his meeting with Modi.”
The World Press Freedom Index measures India at 161, a high number for the world’s largest democracy, due to the country’s “violence against journalists, the politically partisan media, and the concentration of media ownership.” Modi has been in power since 2014.
