Political commentators express shock over Christian figures lauding PM Modi during Christmas
Says “irony of the year 2023” in joint press statement
New Delhi: A joint press statement by prominent figures and political commentators including Apoorvanand, John Dayal, ASR Mary Scaria SCJM, AC Michael, Minakshi Singh, and Shabnam Hashmi, highlights the irony of the year 2023 as it began with church burnings and the killing of Christians in Imphal, Manipur, and concludes with religious leaders commending Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his contributions to the welfare of the Christian community during Christmas celebrations.
“Throughout the year, the Christian community, including bishops and clergy, had appealed to the Prime Minister to visit Manipur, a region marked by communal crimes and human tragedy. However, the plea seemingly went unanswered, leaving the responsibility to the Home Minister and the state’s Chief minister, who, according to public allegations, have been negligent in addressing the situation,” the press statement added.
“Despite Supreme Court intervention and the Chief Justice of India's involvement, the only significant action taken has been the burial of Kuki-Zo-Hmar people in Imphal hospitals. Approximately fifty thousand people from these communities continue to endure harsh conditions in refugee camps run by various church groups. Harsh Mander, a renowned human rights activist, highlights the persistent human disaster, especially affecting women and children, with unemployment, malnourishment, and the rule of private armies in the hills,” it added.
“But it is not about Manipur alone. The persecution of the community is rampant, hate towards it from the highest quarters of nationalist religious leadership as deep as it can be. The government seems keen to starve it out of existence by withdrawing the FCRAs of a vast number of churches and its NGOs, and using the investigating agencies against Cardinals and Bishops, Pastors and lay people. In UP for instance, nearly 100 pastors and even ordinary men and women are in jail under charges of illegal conversions when all they were doing was celebrating birthdays or conducting Sunday prayers,” the statement further added.
International and national human rights bodies, including the Wada Na Todo Abhiyan, have criticized India for its treatment of religious minorities, especially Muslims and Christians. The United Christian Forum reports an alarming rate of two incidents of prosecution per day in the country.
“Apart from Prosecution, arrests, the crisis of schools and other institutions, the massive social issue of the Dalit Christians remains. The Modi government’s spokespersons have been particularly harsh on it.
“The Prime minister is not only free but duty bound to embrace the nation’s religious minorities and invite their leaders to functions at his house on Christmas and important days. We remember when Christmas carols were a part of the Rashtrapati Bhawan Calendar. Similarly, as citizens, Bishops and Cardinals and others too are duty bound to felicitate their political leaders and rulers,” it added further.
In concluding the statement, the figures extended Christmas and New Year greetings to the nation, urging everyone not to forget the plight of their brothers and sisters who suffer due to government impunity and the actions of political elements with little regard for constitutional principles.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
