All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to explain why India abstained on a draft resolution at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) calling for a debate on the human rights situation in China’s Xinjiang region.
Taking a dig at Modi, Owaisi asked if the former was “scared of offending (Chinese President) Xi Jinping.”
“Will the PM Modi saheb explain the reason for India’s decision to help China out in the UNHRC on the Uighur issue by choosing to abstain from an important vote? Is he so scared of offending Xi Jingping, whom he met 18 times, that India can’t speak for what is right?” the AIMIM leader tweeted.
Congress national spokesperson Shama Mohamed also attacked Modi over the development. “India abstains on draft resolution at UNHRC for a debate on human rights violations of Uyghurs in China. Far from holding China accountable for stealing our land, PM Modi can't even bring himself to condemn China on human right violations. Why is @narendramodi so scared of China!” she tweeted.
{{/usCountry}}Congress national spokesperson Shama Mohamed also attacked Modi over the development. “India abstains on draft resolution at UNHRC for a debate on human rights violations of Uyghurs in China. Far from holding China accountable for stealing our land, PM Modi can't even bring himself to condemn China on human right violations. Why is @narendramodi so scared of China!” she tweeted.
{{/usCountry}}The Indian side didn’t offer an explanation on its decision to abstain on the draft resolution seeking a debate on the human rights situation in China’s Xinjiang region.
The ultimate vote went in favour of China, with 19 members of the UNHRC opposing the resolution and 11 members, including India, Malaysia and Ukraine, abstaining.
The resolution was supported by France, Germany, Japan and the Netherlands.
People familiar with the matter said India has traditionally voted against of abstained on such country-specific resolutions at the UNHRC. It is understood that China’s presence within the UNHRC was a factor in the decision, since any backing for the Xinjiang issue by India could have led to similar moves by China on other issues.
The draft resolution on the situation in Xinjiang was presented by a group comprising Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, the UK and the US, and was co-sponsored by other countries such as Turkey.
The resolution was a follow-up to a recent report by former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet that exposed a wide range of human rights violations in Xinjiang.