During his speech at the University of Chicago Centre in Delhi, US senator Ben Cardin was sharply critical of India on alleged human rights violations, extra-judicial killings and religious intolerance, saying these were “national challenges” that the country faces.
Underscoring that the relationship between India and the US is “not about one person,” Ben Cardin said PM Narendra Modi has been invited to Washington because of the country he represents and not his name.
The Prime Minister was not invited to address the joint session of the Congress because of his name but because of his country.Ben Cardin, US Senator
Modi will travel to Washington on 7 June for a visit, during which he
will address a joint session of the US Congress.
Ben Cardin, a ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called upon the Indian government to address the national issues, which he said he would be raising with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Referring to a UN report, he said India has been named in the Tier 2 list of countries in human trafficking and the issue was “troublesome”.
The Global Slavery Index report states that India has 14 million people trapped as forced labour, which they called slaves.
Cardin was referring
to a news report that the figure has now gone to 18 million, which is 1.4
percent of the population.
(Inputs from PTI.)
Video Editor: Mohd Irshad Alam
Also read: US to Review India’s Human Rights Record During PM Modi’s Visit
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