Biden rolls out the red carpet for India’s Mod

Joe Biden rolls out the red carpet for Narendra Modi on Wednesday as the White House says the president will not lecture the Indian prime minister on human rights and denies that the visit is about China.

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

Biden, who wants India to counterbalance China in the Indo-Pacific region, will not confront Modi over the deteriorating human rights situation created under his leadership.

The president is expected to raise US concerns over India’s democratic backslide, but he will not lecture Modi on the subject, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a briefing.

When the US sees challenges to press, religious or other freedoms, “we make our views known,” Sullivan said, according to Reuters. He added, “We’re doing this in a way where we’re not trying to lecture or pretend 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.

The White House has played coy when it comes to how Biden will handle Modi’s growing iron fist.

“It is normal for President Biden, when speaking to his colleagues from abroad, to routinely raise issues of concern to us. Human rights are certainly a concern for the United States and it is a fundamental part of President Biden’s foreign policy, so I will leave it at that,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday.

Protests will be held around the White House on Thursday.

And more than 70 members of Congress wrote to Biden on Tuesday urging him to address human rights issues with Modi.

“A series of independent, credible reports reflect worrying signs in India toward a contraction 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 lawmakers wrote.

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 great,” 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.

It includes all the pomp and circumstance associated with the occasion – a colorful arrival ceremony on the White House South Lawn, an Oval Office gathering, and a lavish dinner in a glass pavilion built for the occasion.

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

Modi will visit the National Science Foundation with first lady Jill Biden on Wednesday afternoon and have a private dinner with the first couple that evening.

And he will address a joint session of Congress.

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.

It remains unclear whether Biden and Modi will hold a joint press conference, which is typically an important part of a state visit.

Modi has not held a press conference since becoming prime minister. The White House would only say that the schedule is still being worked out.