Interestingly while India seems to be celebrating the Prime Ministers visit as an extension of “good and strong relations’ and the personal chemistry PM Modi reportedly shares with US President Barack Obama, the signals from Washington spell little else but hard business in an environment of concern as outlined by the Senators”.
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Days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the US Congress, visiting senator Ben Cardin from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) was strongly critical of India on human rights, religious freedom, extra judicial killings and treatment of women. Democratic countries, he said, had a heavier burden.
The hearing will examine these and other issues, while seeking to provide concrete recommendations for how US policy makers can most effectively encourage the protection of human rights given the strategic importance and continued growth of the US India bilateral relationship, the commission said.
A US Congressional commission is also set to hold a hearing next week on human rights violations in India that will coincide with the Modi-Obama meeting. During this visit he will address a joint session of the US Congress.
Asked if he will bring up this issue during his meeting with Modi, he replied in the positive.
“There will be some meetings that will be taking place on the Hill. I will be hosting a dinner for the prime minister”, he said. “Senator (John) McCain raised the issue of intolerance… you would have to ask him”.
“I believe in federalism system”.
Cardin also talked about alleged corruption, crime against women and human trafficking in India saying these challenges must be addressed by the government. There are extra-judicial killings in India. Its different in different areas of the country. “That can not be allowed to continue”. Further adding to India’s criticism he said that women in India are very vulnerable and how a nation treats its women, is the barometer of its progress.
This comes a week after a group of senior senators including Cardin, Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), Timothy M. Kaine (D-Va.) pressed USA state deptt official Nisha Desai Biswal, on India’s human rights issues, including human trafficking, its crackdown on non-government organizations receiving foreign funding such as Greenpeace and the Ford Foundation, rising intolerance, and the recent decision to bar investigators from the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom from traveling to India.
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Cardin went on to commend Modi on his hard stance on corruption, but added that more needed to be done. He pointed out that corruption has also historically lead to political instability and the collapse of governments, citing the examples of Russian Federation and Ukraine.
