17 Civil society organisations urge President Biden to reconsider dinner invitation to PM Modi
PM Modi’s US state visit
Washington DC: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who will be on his first official state visit to the United States from June 21 to 24, following an invitation extended by President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, will also be part of dinner hosted by the US President and First lady on June 22 to honour the Prime Minister.
Meanwhile, at least 17 civil society organisations have expressed displeasure over the US president hosting a dinner for the Indian PM and have urged the US President Joe Biden to cancel the dinner invitation to the Indian PM.
According to a report in the Indian American Muslim Council’s (IAMC) official website a coalition of 17 civil rights organisations, including the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), Hindus for Human Rights , Dalit Solidarity Inc., Genocide Watch and others have released an open letter urging President Joe Biden to reconsider his decision to extend a state dinner invitation to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, due to the steep decline of democratic values and the continuous violation of human rights against minority communities under his regime.
As per the report, In the letter the organisations voice their apprehensions about the involvement of the Modi administration in fostering Hindu extremist mob violence, hate crimes, and hate speech, with a particular focus on the Muslim and Christian communities. They further underscore the enforcement of biased laws designed to curtail the rights of minority groups, hinder religious conversions and interfaith marriages, and curtail freedom of expression, dissent, and assembly., read the report.
Quoting the letter, the report on the IAMC read as follows, “The invitation to Modi as a state guest signals that the US supports India’s crackdown on fundamental democratic rights and emboldens the Modi administration to intensify its anti-democratic agenda,” the letter stated.
In a press statement, Indian American Muslim Council called PM Modi a champion of “Hindutva, a radical-nazi inspired ideology.” The IAMC also highlighted the gesture of inviting Modi for a dinner as an indication of the United States support towards India’s downslide of democracy.
At the same time, researcher and columnist Ashok Swain took to twitter expressing dismay over dinner invitation by Biden wrote, “Biden talks of promoting democracy, but breaks bread with dictators, who destroy democracies! 17 civil society organisations ask Biden to cancel the dinner invitation to Modi.”
Accordingly, 17 organisations namely, Indian American Muslim Council, Hindus for Human Rights, Dalit Solidarity Inc. , World Without Genocide, Intl Defenders Council , Intl Society for Peace and Justice, Genocide Watch, Jubilee Campaign, Asian Children's Education Fellowship, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR, Misión Vida para las Naciones, Church in the Republic of Uruguay, Global Christian Relief, American Sikh Council, Human Rights and Grassroots Development Society, Intl Commission for Dalit Rights, American Muslim Institute, have signed the letter and have urged the US president to reconsider dinner invitation extended to Indian PM Modi.
Biden talks of promoting democracy, but breaks bread with dictators, who destroy democracies!
— Ashok Swain (@ashoswai) June 8, 2023
17 civil society organizations ask Biden to cancel the dinner invitation to Modi.
1. Indian American Muslim Council
2. Hindus for Human Rights
3. Dalit Solidarity Inc.
4. World Without…
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Road crash in UP leaves 10 dead
Lakhimpur Kheri (UP) (PTI): Ten people were killed when a van collided head-on with a truck on the Sisaiya-Lakhimpur national highway on Monday, police said.
The van was going to Sisaiya from Lakhimpur when the accident took place between Unchgaon and Bharehta villages.
Circle Officer of Dhaurahra, Shamsher Bahadur Singh, said all nine passengers travelling in the van and the driver were killed.
District Magistrate of Lakhimpur Kheri Anjani Kumar Singh told reporters that the van collided with a truck coming from the opposite direction, leading to nine casualties on the spot, while one succumbed to injuries at the district hospital.
Circle Officer, Dhaurahra, Shamsher Bahadur Singh told PTI, "Efforts are on to establish the identity of other deceased persons."
The seven of the deceased have been identified as Jaideep Singh (25), Pawan (23), Sohan (21), Ram Goyal (42), Sahajram (35), Pappu (18), all residents of Bahraich district and Adnan Khan (15), a resident of Lakhimpur Kheri district, police said.
Condoling the loss of lives in the accident, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in a post on X, said, "The loss of life in the unfortunate road accident in Lakhimpur Kheri district is deeply distressing and heart-wrenching. My condolences are with the bereaved families."
"I have directed the local administration to provide prompt and adequate assistance to the injured and the victims. I pray to Lord Shri Ram to grant the departed souls a place at His divine feet and to bestow a speedy recovery upon the injured," Adityanath said on X.
Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak too condoled the loss of lives in the accident.
"The loss of lives resulting from the road accident in Lakhimpur Kheri district is deeply tragic and heart-wrenching. My deepest condolences go out to the bereaved families," Maurya said.
