New Delhi: Hitting out at the US over human rights issues in India, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said India “deserves to have an opinion about their (US) views and interests and the lobby and vote bank that runs it.”
Addressing a joint press conference after the 2+2 talks, Jaishankar said that the issue of human rights has come up in the past also.
He said, “No, we did not discuss human rights during this meeting. The meeting mainly focused on political and military matters,” he said, as reported by news agency ANI.
However, the minister opposed US views on human rights, saying, “India also considers the human rights situation of others, including those of the United States, and takes up matters relating to the Indian community.”
Jaishankar’s statement came after Secretary of State Antony Blinken had earlier said that the US was monitoring some recent “incidents” in India, including an increase in human rights abuses by some government, police and prison officials.
“It (human rights) is a topic that has come up in the past. It came up when Secretary Blinken came to India, and I think if you remember the press briefing after that, I’m very concerned about that fact. It was open that we had a discussion. This is more what I had to say,” Jaishankar added as per the report.
“People have a right to have an opinion about us, but we are equally entitled to have an opinion about their views and interests and about the lobby and vote bank,” he said.
Noting that India takes up human rights issues with the US, especially if they belong to the Indian community, he said, “We also consider the human rights situation of others, including those of the United States, so we take up human rights issues.” When they are born in this country (America), especially when it relates to our community.”
Meanwhile, two Sikh men were attacked in New York’s Queens borough on Tuesday, less than two weeks after another Sikh man was attacked in the same neighborhood, officials said.
Blinken said on Monday that India and the US share a commitment to democratic values such as protecting human rights.
“We engage regularly with our Indian partners on these shared values, and to that end, we are monitoring some recent developments in India, including an increase in human rights abuses by some government, police and prison officials,” he said. is.”