On Obama's Muslims in India remark, Rajnath says, 'All people are one family'

Barack Obama had spoken about the protection of the rights of the ethnic minorities in India, this at a time when PM Modi was on a State visit to the US.

Updated on: Jun 26, 2023, 14:55:29 IST

By HT News Desk | Written by Aryan Prakash

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Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Monday retorted to former US President Barack Obama's remark on Muslims in India.

“Obama ji should not forget that India is the only country which considers all the people living in the world as family members... He should also think about himself as to how many Muslim countries he has attacked”, the minister said at an event in Jammu.

Singh's remarks come a day after finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had hit back at Obama. Addressing a presser on Sunday, she said six Muslim-dominated countries were bombed by the US when Obama was its president.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh during a National Security Conclave', at Zorawar Singh Auditorium in Jammu, Monday. (PTI)

“More than 26,000 bombs were dropped…how will people trust his words?” she had added.

In an interview to CNN, the former US president had spoken about the protection of the rights of the ethnic minorities in India. He has said India may start ‘pulling apart’ if its government does not protect the rights of ethnic minorities.

Obama's remarks had come at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on a state visit to the United States. He has said if a US president meets PM Modi, then “the protection of Muslim minority in a Hindu-majority India” is worth mentioning.

Obama's remarks had triggered a massive uproar with the BJP slamming the former US president. Assam chief minister had pointed to the ex-president's name.

"There are many Hussain Obama in India itself. We should prioritize taking care of them before considering going to Washington. The Assam police will act according to our own priorities," the BJP leader had written on Twitter.

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