Rep. Ocasio-Cortez will BOYCOTT Prime Minister Modi’s speech to Congress

Deputy Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will not attend Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech to Congress in protest of his record of human rights violations.

Modi will speak before a joint session of Congress on Thursday after a meeting with President Joe Biden.

But AOC isn’t the only one skipping. Fellow Progressive Representatives Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, the two Muslim women in Congress, said they will also not be attending the Indian leader’s speech.

A group of 70 lawmakers wrote to the president urging him to raise concerns about Modi’s handling of the human rights of religious minorities and lower castes during their discussion.

In India, Modi has cracked down on dissent, sparking fears he is leading the world’s largest democracy towards an autocratic regime.

“I will boycott Prime Minister Modi’s speech to Congress tomorrow, and I encourage my colleagues who champion pluralism, tolerance and freedom of the press to do the same with me,” AOC wrote in a statement.

“In 2005, Narendra Modi was denied a visa to the US for his religious freedom violations, including his complicity in an anti-Muslim riot that left more than 1,000 dead,” she explained. “India currently ranks 161 out of 180 in the World Press Freedom Index – in part because of Modi’s raids on BBC India offices and his lawsuit against a critical documentary.”

“A joint address is one of the most prestigious invitations and awards the United States Congress can bestow,” AOC noted.

“We should not be doing this for individuals with a deeply troubling human rights record — particularly those whom our own State Department has found to be involved in systematic human rights violations against religious minorities and communities.” who are oppressed by castes.’

Biden rolled out the red carpet for Modi on Wednesday amid White House assurances he would not lecture the Indian prime minister on human rights.

The White House also denied that the visit related to the increase in aggression from China.

President Biden, who wants India to counterbalance China in the Indo-Pacific region, will not confront Modi about the human rights situation that has worsened under his leadership.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan predicted ahead of the meeting that Biden would raise US concerns about the democratic backslide in India, but assured that he would not lecture Modi on the subject.

When the US sees challenges to press, religious or other freedoms, “we make our views known,” Sullivan said, according to Reuters. He added: “We do this in a way where we don’t try to lecture or claim that we don’t have challenges ourselves.

“Ultimately, the question of where politics and the issue of democratic institutions in India are going will be decided within India by Indians. It will not be decided by the United States,” Sullivan said.

Biden has argued for the virtues of democracy over autocracy. And Modi’s human rights record could put the president in a difficult position as he welcomes the Indian leader with open arms.

“A series of independent, credible reports reflect worrying signs in India toward a shrinking of political space, the rise of religious intolerance, attacks on civil society organizations and journalists, and growing restrictions on press freedom and internet access,” the 70 legislators wrote. . in a letter to Biden.

Modi was once denied a US visa after riots in 2002 killed more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, in Gujarat – the region where he was prime minister.

To ban Modi, the State Department invoked a little-known 1998 US law that makes foreign officials responsible for “serious violations of religious freedom” ineligible for a visa.

But Modi was allowed entry to the US after his election as prime minister in 2014.

Modi is accused of marginalizing Muslims, the largest minority group in the Hindu country. Violence against Muslims is more common under Modi. And the prime minister has been criticized for supporting a law that makes it more difficult for Muslim immigrants to become Indian citizens.

The White House also publicly argues that Modi’s visit is not about China.

“This state visit is not about China. And it’s not about sending a message to China. It’s really all about the bilateral relationship with India and nurturing that relationship for a future that we think is very, very good,” Kirby said.

But China will be an unspoken, underlying thread. The visit comes as India has passed China as the world’s most populous nation.

The White House’s courtship of Modi and the effort to bring India closer together on trade, climate and technology all serve the greater purpose of countering Beijing’s influence in the region.

Other presidents have also kept India close. Barack Obama visited India during his presidency, as did Donald Trump. Trump also attended a ‘Howdy Modi’ event with the prime minister in Houston.

To help the cause, the Biden White House is honoring Modi with a state dinner — the third of the Biden administration. And while Modi has visited the US five times since becoming prime minister in 2014, this will be his first state visit.

The visit to the US included all the pomp and circumstance of the occasion – a colorful arrival ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, an Oval Office meeting and a lavish dinner in a glass pavilion built for the occasion.

The two men held a joint press conference on Wednesday – Modi rarely takes questions from the media.

Before arriving in Washington DC on Wednesday, Modi led International Day of Yoga celebrations at United Nations headquarters in New York.

Modi then visited the National Science Foundation with first lady Jill Biden on Wednesday afternoon and has a private dinner with the first couple later in the evening.

His speech to a joint session of Congress will take place on Thursday.

Modi will meet several American CEOs during his visit to America, including at a Friday reception. On Tuesday, he met Elon Musk of Twitter in New York.

Biden and Modi are expected to announce several agreements related to defense cooperation and sales, artificial intelligence, quantum computing and investments in India by Micron Technology and other US companies.

The war in Ukraine will also be on the agenda. India has continued to buy oil and weapons from Russia and has not publicly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

For his part, Modi is pushing for a greater role for India on the world stage. India, a member of the G20, is hosting world leaders for the group’s annual meeting in September. And Modi wants his country to get a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.