Modi’s ‘Infiltrator’ Remarks: Rights Group Urges Biden to Declare India ‘Country of Particular Concern’
Modi is facing accusations of "hate speech" against Muslims after he made controversial comments calling the community “infiltrators” amidst ongoing general elections.
Addressing a crowd at a rally in the western state of Rajasthan on Sunday, Modi claimed that if the country's main opposition party, the Indian National Congress, is voted to power, “they will gather all your wealth and distribute it among those who have more children,” an apparent reference to Muslims.
“Should your hard-earned money be given to infiltrators?” Modi asked the cheering crowd in the Sunday rally.
The comments have drawn wide backlash both from inside and outside India.
Nihad Awad, Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), urged the US President Joe Biden Administration to declare India a “Country of Particular Concern.”
“It is unconscionable, but not surprising, that far-right Hindutva leader Narendra Modi would target Indian Muslims with a hateful and dangerous diatribe despite his role as the leader of a nation with such a diverse religious heritage,” Awad said as reported by the group’s website.
“We again call on the Biden administration to declare India a ‘Country of Particular Concern’ over its discriminatory and violent policies targeting Muslims and other religious minorities. Global Islamophobia is alive and well in India and must be confronted before it escalates to something even worse.”
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Awad noted that in 2005, the State Department denied Modi a visa to visit the US due to his persecution of minority faiths in Gujarat. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat when it was gripped by communal massacres that left more than 1,000 people dead – most of them Muslims.
On Monday, the Congress party lodged a petition with the Election Commission of India (ECI), urging them to take action against Modi for his remarks about Muslims, which the party deemed as " deeply objectionable" and in violation of election regulations.
Modi's remarks against the followers of Islam mark the first time he directly targets Muslims, India's largest minority, ever since he held office as prime minister in 2014, as when it comes to attacking Muslims, he usually avoids being in the limelight and instead lets his other party members do the dirty job.
His Islamophobic speech comes amid the ongoing general elections, which kicked off on Friday, where the opposition parties are trying their best to uproot the leader.
Source: Agencies
