Obama comment is hypocritical after bombing Muslim-majority countries – India’s finance minister
India’s finance minister has accused U.S. former President Barack Obama of being hypocritical as regard the comments he made demanding for the rights of minority Muslims to be protected by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
During Modi’s state visit to the United States last week, Obama disclosed this in a televised interview, “protection of the Muslim minority in a majority-Hindu India” would be worth raising in Modi’s meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden.
Obama said that without such protection there was “a strong possibility that India at some point starts pulling apart”.
Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said she was shocked that Obama has made such remarks when Modi was visiting the United States aiming to deepen relations.
“He was commenting on Indian Muslims … having bombed Muslim-majority countries from Syria to Yemen … during his presidency,” Sitharaman told a press conference on Sunday.
“Why would anyone listen to any allegations from such people?”
The U.S. State Department has raised concerns over treatment of Muslims other religious minorities in India under Modi’s Hindu-nationalist party. The Indian government says it treats all citizens equally.
