More Congresspeople announce boycott of Modi’s address; digital trucks call out human rights violations
More members of Congress have announced that they will be boycotting Hindu supremacist Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming joint address to Congress in protest against his government’s democratic backsliding and human rights abuses against minorities.
Alongside Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Cori Bush (D-MO), Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), and Kweisi Mfume (D-MD) have announced their decision to boycott Modi’s joint address to Congress. The lawmakers cited human rights violations in India as their reason behind the decision.
Meanwhile, New York City saw trucks with screens calling on US President Joe Biden to ask Modi tough questions about human rights violations in India.
An image shared on Twitter showed numerous trucks that had messages written out for Biden.
“Hey Joe, ask Modi why India is under a genocide watch today!”, one of the messages read. One of the screens showed images of political activist Umar Khalid, asking why he had been in a Delhi jail for over 1000 days without trial. Another image sported the hashtag #CrimeMinisterOfIndia.
In one of the pages of the Washington Post, the Committee to Protect Journalists and its partners took out a full-page ad, criticizing the handling of press freedom in India. The ad also demanded that leaders around the world should urge those in power in the country to stop threats against journalists.
BJP leader, three others arrested for setting mosque on fire in Rajasthan
Four people, including a leader from Modi’s Hindu supremacist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), have been arrested after a mosque in Bahadurpur of Rajasthan’s Alwar was set on fire on June 20.
A violent Hindu extremist mob gathered and set fire to the mosque, leading to the destruction of prayer mats and curtains. The mob also shattered the glass windows of the building.
The mob also chanted “Jai Shri Ram,” a religious slogan used as a warcry by Hindu supremacists, and other anti-Muslim slogans.
Muslims decide not to return to Purola, put houses up for sale
Three abandoned homes of Muslims in Purola town in Hindu supremacist BJP-ruled Uttarakhand state have been put up for sale after Hindu militant groups threatened the families into fleeing the town.
There are about 400-500 Muslims in Purola. About a dozen Muslim families have fled Purola after notices were pasted by Hindu militants on Muslim-owned homes and businesses, ordering them to vacate the town before June 15.
The threats were issued by Hindu militant groups Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal over false accusations of “Love Jihad.”
Love Jihad is an unproven conspiracy theory that accuses Muslim men of luring Hindu women into romantic relationships in order to convert them to Islam by marriage.
Residents of Purola that Hindu militant groups are using the conspiracy theory to intensify their years-old movement that seeks to free the Uttarakhand state, known for its many Hindu pilgrimage sites and temple towns, of the Muslim community.
