The White House has strongly condemned the online harassment faced by a Wall Street Journal reporter who questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of religious minorities' rights during a joint press conference with US President Joe Biden in Washington on June 22.
US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said that the reported harassment was completely unacceptable and antithetical to the very principles of democracy that were on display last week during PM Modi's state visit.
"It’s completely unacceptable and it's antithetical to the very principles of democracy that ... were on display last week during the state visit," Kirby said on Monday in a press briefing.
PM Modi asked about human rights violation
During his first State visit to the US, PM Modi, in a rare occurrence, took questions from reporters at a joint press conference along with President Biden held at the White House. Siddiqui posed a question regarding the rights of religious minorities in India. The White House correspondent asked, “There are many human rights groups who say your government has discriminated against religious minorities and sought to silence its critics. What steps are you and your government willing to take to improve the rights of Muslims and other minorities in your country and uphold free speech?”
In response, the PM expressed his surprise at the question and said in Hindi, “In India's democratic values, there is absolutely no discrimination, neither based on caste, creed, age, nor any kind of geographic location.”
He further added, “Indeed, India is a democracy. And as President Biden also mentioned, India and America, both countries, democracy is in our DNA. Democracy is our spirit. Democracy runs in our veins. We live democracy.”
Siddiqui on facing online trolling
Since then, Siddiqui has encountered online trolling on various social media platforms.
"Since some have chosen to make a point of my personal background, it feels only right to provide a fuller picture. Sometimes identities are more complex than they seem," she tweeted on Saturday, sharing photos of herself wearing an Indian cricket team shirt and another photo of her and her father watching India win the 2011 Cricket World Cup.
What does prez Biden think about PM Modi’s answer?
When asked about President Biden's response to PM Modi's answer regarding human rights, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “I think that is for the prime minister to answer and for all of you to critique or write about. I'm not going to discuss that from here.”
She also underlined Kirby’s message adding, “We’re committed to the freedom of the press, which is why we had the press conference last week.”
The press secretary said, “We certainly condemn any efforts of intimidation or harassment of any journalist that is trying to do their job.”
Source Hindustan Times
BDST: 2020 HRS, JUNE 27, 2023
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