White House Denounces Harassment of Journalist Questioning Indian PM Modi on Religious Minority Rights

The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, was questioned on the rights of religious minorities during a news conference with US President Joe Biden in Washington on June 22. The White House has sharply denounced the online abuse that a Wall Street Journal reporter experienced as a result for asking question to Indian Prime Minister. Speaking on behalf of the US National Security Council, John Kirby stated that the alleged harassment was wholly reprehensible and at odds with the fundamental values of democracy that were on exhibit during PM Modi's state visit last week.

In a press briefing, Kirby strongly criticized and said that "It’s completely unacceptable and it's antithetical to the very principles of democracy that ... were on display last week during the state visit," reported Hindustan Times.

In a rare occurrence, Prime Minister Modi fielded questions from reporters at a joint news conference with President Biden at the White House on his maiden State visit to the US. Regarding the rights of religious minorities in India, Siddiqui asked a question mentioning several human rights organisations rxists in India which had claimed that Indian government has discriminated against religious minorities and tried to silence its critics. Siddiqui added that what actions are PM Modi and its government to protect free expression and advance the rights of Muslims and other minorities in Indian nation.

While answeing Siddiqui's question, the PM expressed his surprise at the question and said in Hindi, “In India's democratic values, there is absolutely no discrimination, neither based on caste, creed, age, nor any kind of geographic location.” He continued that India is a democratic country and as President Biden also said, democracy is ingrained in both America and India. They added that democratic is in their DNA.

Since then, Siddiqui has experienced online harassment on a number of social media sites. She explained that it feels only reasonable to give a more thorough description since some people have decided to highlight her personal history. She tweeted on Saturday, posting images of herself sporting an Indian cricket team shirt and another of her and her father cheering on their country as they won the 2011 Cricket World Cup. She continued that sometimes identities are more complex than they seem. In addition, she emphasised Kirby's point by saying, they are committed to the freedom of the press, which is why we had the press conference last week.

Meanwhile, the press secretary stated that categorically condemn any efforts of intimidation or harassment of any journalist who is trying to do their jobs.