“The world is watching,” warns Indian American lawmaker as she joins Democratic presidential candidate in condemning violence.
As the world continues to see shocking images of sectarian violence coming out of India with police remaining ineffective in controlling the situation, some US lawmakers reacted strongly to the happenings in India.
The fact that the violence broke out while President Donald Trump was on his two-day very celebrated visit to India, made the events that unfolded on the streets of India’s capital even more shocking.
Barely a few miles away from where Trump and his host Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi were holding their summit parleys, violent sectarian clashes erupted between supporters and opponents of India’s controversial Citizenship Amendment Act(CAA).
Taking note of the alarming situation, several US lawmakers, including Democratic presidential candidate Senator Elizabeth Warren came out on Twitter to express shock and condemnation for the violence.
“It is important to strengthen relationships with democratic partners like India,” tweeted Warren. “But we must be able to speak truthfully about our values, including religious freedom and freedom of expression – and violence against peaceful protestors is never acceptable.”
Indian American House member from Washington, Pramila Jayapal who has been a vocal critic of the CAA,was among the first in the US to react to the events in Delhi.
“The deadly surge of religious intolerance in India is horrifying,” she wrote. “Democracies should not tolerate division and discrimination and promote laws that undermine religious freedom. The world is watching.”
Democratic House member from Wisconsin Mark Pocan minced no words in commenting on the apathy shown by Trump and Modi as violence continued unabated in Delhi.
He posted a Washington Post article on his Twitter handle with the headline, “In India: Trump validates Modi’s Divisive Agenda.”
“As @realDonaldTrump pals along with @narendramodi, he makes no mention of the unspeakable Islamophobic violence happening in India under Modi’s watch,” Pocan tweeted.
“Perhaps, it’s because they’re allies in their anti-Muslim rhetoric. Or perhaps they just don’t care,” he added.
“This week, Trump visited India but the real story should be the communal violence targeting Muslims in Delhi right now,” tweeted Rashida Tlaib Congresswoman from Michigan.
“We cannot be silent as this tide of anti-Muslim violence continues across India.”