Obama's comments on Modi coincidental? Congress MP says ‘would be surprised if…’
Former US President Barack Obama said that India risks "pulling apart" if the Muslim minority is not respected, calling for the issue to be raised with PM Modi.
Former US President Barack Obama's remarks on the rights of Muslim minorities in India have triggered a controversy, with Congress MP Manish Tewari not seeing it as a mere coincidence when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a state visit to the United States at the invitation of President Joe Biden. Tewari, a member of the Lok Sabha from Anandpur Sahib, highlighted the strong bond between Biden and Obama, suggesting that the former president made the remarks on Biden's behalf.
Obama said Thursday that India risks "pulling apart" if the Muslim minority is not respected, calling for the issue to be raised with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In an interview with CNN, Obama said that addressing human rights with allies was always "complicated."
"I think it is true that if the president meets with Prime Minister Modi, then the protection of the Muslim minority in a majority-Hindu India, that's something worth mentioning," Obama said in an interview with CNN International anchor Christiane Amanpour.
"If I had a conversation with Prime Minister Modi, who I know well, part of my argument would be that if you do not protect the rights of ethnic minorities in India, that there is a strong possibility at some point that India starts pulling apart," the first African-American president said.
"We've seen what happens when you start getting those kinds of large internal conflicts. So that would be contrary to the interests not just of Muslim India but also of Hindu India," he said.
Reacting to Obama's comments, Tewari tweeted, “I would be surprised if Former President Barack Obama‘s comments were just coincidental. Joe Biden was Barack Obama‘s Vice President for eight long years. Barack Obama continues to be his biggest supporter. It is Tweedlum & Tweedlee. Get someone equally influential to say it.”
Biden, meanwhile, called religious freedom a "core principle" for India and the United States as he welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"Equity under the law, freedom of expression, religious pluralism and diversity of our people -- these core principles have endured and evolve," Biden said at a ceremonial welcome to Modi at the White House. "Even as they have faced challenges throughout each of our nations' histories, and will fuel our strength, depth and future."