On one of the pages of the Washington Post, the Committee to Protect Journalists and its partners have placed a full-page ad, criticising the handling of press freedom in India.
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — As Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the United States began on Tuesday, trucks with screens calling on President Joe Biden to quiz his guest on the recent happenings in his country were seen on the streets in New York.
An image widely shared on Twitter showed numerous trucks that had messages written out for Biden.
“Hey Joe, ask Modi why India is under a genocide watch today!”, one of the messages read. A screen showed images of political activist Umar Khalid, asking why he has been incarcerated for over 1,000 days without trial, media reports reaching here said.
Another image sported the hashtag, #CrimeMinisterOfIndia.
The wrestlers’ protest that has shaken India for the last few months also found a mention on one of the trucks. “Ask Modi why female Olympians were detained while protesting sexual assault by his own minister?” it read.
Meanwhile, on one of the pages of the Washington Post, the Committee to Protect Journalists and its partners have placed a full-page ad, criticising the handling of press freedom in India.
“India is the world’s largest democracy, yet it is one of the world’s most dangerous countries for the media,” the ad said. Journalists face physical violence, harassment, lawsuits, and hate campaigns on social media, it added.
World leaders, the ad said, should ask those in power in India to stop threats against journalists.
US lawmakers Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Cori Bush have announced their decision to boycott the Prime Minister’s joint address to Congress.
Coinciding with Modi’s arrival in the US, in a joint letter more than 70 Democratic members of the US Congress urged President Biden to raise “areas of concern” in his meeting with the Indian leader.
Senator Bernie Sanders, one of the signatories of the letter, said that “Modi’s government has cracked down on the press and civil society, jailed political opponents, and pushed an aggressive Hindu nationalism that leaves little space for India’s religious minorities.”
“President Biden should raise these facts in his meeting with Modi,” he said in a tweet.
