Raise rights issues with Modi, 75 US

lawmakers urge Biden

US President Joe Biden, seated with US Secretary

of State Antony Blinken and India's Foreign
Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, holds a
videoconference with India's Prime Minister
Narendra Modi to discuss Russia's war with
Ukraine from the White House in Washington US,
April 11, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File
Photo
Dozens of US President Joe Biden's fellow
Democrats urged him on Tuesday to raise
human rights issues with Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi during his visit to Washington
this week, according to a letter sent to Biden.
Modi left for Washington on Tuesday for a visit
projected as a milestone in ties between the two
countries.

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The U.S. lawmakers said they were concerned
about religious intolerance, press freedoms, internet
access and the targeting of civil society groups.
"We do not endorse any particular Indian leader or
political party — that is the decision of the people
of India — but we do stand in support of the
important principles that should be a core part of
American foreign policy," said the letter, led by
Senator Chris Van Hollen and Representative
Pramila Jayapal.
A total of 75 Democratic senators and members of
the House of Representatives signed the letter, sent
to the White House on Tuesday and first reported
by Reuters.
"And we ask that, during your meeting with Prime
Minister Modi, you discuss the full range of issues
important to a successful, strong, and long-term
relationship between our two great countries," the
letter said.
Modi has been to the United States five times since
becoming prime minister in 2014, but the trip will
be his first with the full diplomatic status of a state
visit, despite concerns over what is seen as a
deteriorating human rights situation under his
Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
Washington hopes for closer ties with the world's
largest democracy, which it sees as a counterweight
to China, but rights advocates worry that
geopolitics will overshadow human rights issues.
Several U.S. rights groups plan protests during
Modi's visit.
The State Department's annual report on human
rights practices released in March listed "significant
human rights issues" and abuses in India.
'FRIENDS CAN AND SHOULD DISCUSS
THEIR DIFFERENCES'
Modi will address a joint meeting of the House and
Senate on Thursday, one of the highest honors
Washington affords to foreign dignitaries.
"A series of independent, credible reports reflect
troubling signs in India toward the shrinking of
political space, the rise of religious intolerance, the
targeting of civil society organizations and
journalists, and growing restrictions on press
freedoms and internet access," the lawmakers said
in the letter.
They said they joined Biden in welcoming Modi to
the United States, and want a "close and warm
relationship" between the people of the two
countries, saying that friendship should be based on
shared values and "friends can and should discuss
their differences in an honest and forthright way."
"That is why we respectfully request that — in
addition to the many areas of shared interests
between India and the U.S. — you also raise
directly with Prime Minister Modi areas of
concern," the letter said.
Speaking to reporters before Modi arrived in
Washington, White House national security
spokesperson John Kirby declined comment on
whether Biden would raise the issue, but that it is
"commonplace" for Biden to raise concerns about
human rights.