Indian opposition leader slammed for meeting with US lawmaker

Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi’s meeting with US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has triggered an angry response from members of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The backlash began after Gandhi posted a photo with US lawmakers including Omar, Jonathan Jackson, Ro Khanna, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Barbara Lee, Shri Thanedar, Jesus Garcia, Hank Johnson, and Jan Schakowsky. Gandhi is the de-facto leader of the Congress Party, the country’s oldest political party and currently the largest opposition.

Amit Malviya, the head of the BJP’s Information and Technology cell, blasted Omar as a “Pakistan-sponsored anti-India voice,” adding: “Congress is now openly working against India.”

Omar, who represents Minnesota’s 5th congressional district, has a history of annoying New Delhi with actions that it sees as “anti-India.” Last year, she condemned the killing of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, and urged the US to support Canada’s probe into India’s alleged involvement in his death. New Delhi has denied Ottawa’s allegations that Indian agents were linked to Nijjar’s assassination in a Vancouver suburb.

In 2022, Omar visited the Pakistani-controlled part of Jammu and Kashmir region, the site of a major territorial dispute between New Delhi and Islamabad. She said the US Foreign Affairs Committee had inquired into reports of human rights violations in the region. New Delhi described the visit as “condemnable.”

Derek Chollet, the counsellor to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, told ANI news agency that Omar’s visit was “unofficial” and it did not “represent any policy change on behalf of the United States government.”

READ MORE: Indian opposition leader’s US speech triggers row at home

A few months after her Kashmir visit, Omar introduced a resolution in Congress condemning alleged human rights violations in India, specifically those targeting Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, and other minorities. The resolution called on the secretary of state to designate India as a ‘Country of Particular Concern’ under the International Religious Freedom Act.

Gandhi’s meeting with Omar came a day after he triggered a major controversy when he claimed at a meeting with the Indian diaspora in Virginia that religious minorities, including Sikhs, face discrimination in his country. The statement has been widely condemned by the ruling party’s leaders, who say Gandhi has tarnished India’s image on the world stage.

Reacting to the allegations, Congress media and publicity department chief Pawan Khera said criticism of Modi or his party should not be seen as defamation of India. “We will criticize their policies,” Khera was quoted by Mint newspaper as saying. “It is our job.”