Two US lawmakers to boycott Modi’s speech at joint session of US Congress
Washington: Two Congresswomen from the Democratic Party, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, took to Twitter to announce their decision to boycott Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s joint congressional address on Thursday. Both of them cited gross human right violations, including repression of religious minorities under the Modi government.
Rashida Tlaib mentioned that giving Modi a space at US’s capital is very shameful. She shared that Modi’s long history of human rights abuses, anti-democratic actions, targeting Muslims and religious minorities, and censoring journalists is unacceptable.
Ilhan Omar, the first African refugee to become a member of Congress, stated that the Modi government has emboldened violent Hindu nationalist groups and targeted journalists and human right rights advocates. Furthermore, she will hold a briefing with human rights group to discuss Modi’s record of repression and violence.
Reacting to this, Atif Rasheed, former vice chairman of the National Commission for Minorities, stated that a wrong picture of India is being depicted under Ilhan’s hate agenda. He said that he belongs from a religious minority in India and lives freely with religious freedom and identity in “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s India”.
Meanwhile, 75 Democratic senators and members of the House of Representatives have signed and sent a letter to the White House on Tuesday urging President Joe Biden to raise issues such as growing religious intolerance, press freedom, restrictions on internet access, targeting civil groups and other human right violations in India with Modi.
Prime Minister Modi’s government has repressed religious minorities, emboldened violent Hindu nationalist groups, and targeted journalists/human rights advocates with impunity.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) June 20, 2023
I will NOT be attending Modi’s speech.
It’s shameful that Modi has been given a platform at our nation’s capital—his long history of human rights abuses, anti-democratic actions, targeting Muslims & religious minorities, and censoring journalists is unacceptable.
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) June 20, 2023
I will be boycotting Modi’s joint address to Congress.
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BJP accuses CM Siddaramaiah of 'misleading' public on govt job figures
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka BJP president B Y Vijayendra on Wednesday lashed out at Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, accusing him of "misleading" the public on government recruitment figures and "failing" to address the concerns of unemployed youth in the state.
In a detailed post on his X handle, Vijayendra alleged that the Congress-led government was attempting to deflect accountability by blaming the previous BJP administration instead of initiating concrete steps to fill vacant posts.
“Chief Minister, please refrain from misleading the people. Do not attempt to shift the blame for all your shortcomings onto the BJP and evade responsibility. Your administration has earned a reputation for arrogance, corruption and mismanagement,” Vijayendra said, adding that students and youth were not naïve enough to be swayed by what he termed as "exaggerated claims".
Vijayendra's response came following Siddaramaiah's statement on Tuesday blaming BJP for the huge backlog of government job vacancies.
The CM had said that when Congress assumed office in 2023, over 2.64 lakh government posts were vacant.
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The backlog resulted from prolonged inaction under the previous BJP government, which failed to initiate timely recruitment or create a structured roadmap, he said.
As thousands of government job aspirants staged a massive protests in Dharwad on Tuesday demanding filling the vacant posts immediately, Siddaramaiah accused BJP leaders of "misleading students for political gains" and said recruitment irregularities and alleged corruption between 2019 and 2023 had eroded trust in the system, leading to the current crisis.
Questioning the government’s public statements on employment generation, Vijayendra referred to figures tabled in the Legislative Assembly.
“According to the official figures presented by your own government in the Legislative Assembly, only 8,157 government recruitments have been completed during your three years in office. Yet publicly claiming that 40,000 posts have been filled raises serious concerns. Does this not amount to misleading the unemployed youth of the state?” the Shikaripura MLA asked.
The BJP leader also raised the issue of large-scale vacancies in government departments, claiming that lakhs of posts remained unfilled even after the Congress came to power.
According to him, the state was struggling financially and questioned the delay in initiating fresh recruitment drives despite what he described as legal clarity on proceeding under the existing reservation framework.
Vijayendra further criticised the government for prioritising the accommodation of party workers and disgruntled MLAs in state-run corporations with ministerial rank and perks, while unemployed youth continued to wait for job opportunities.
“At the very least, please stop making claims that do not align with facts. Youth unrest in the state is mounting. Before matters escalate further, act with sincerity — or consider stepping down and seeking the people’s forgiveness,” the BJP state chief said.
Noting that frustration among students and job aspirants was intensifying, Vijayendra urged the CM to immediately expedite pending recruitment processes and ensure transparency in appointments.
He warned that the government would be held accountable for any fallout arising out of growing youth discontent.
