- Saturday, April 20, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
THE Indian National Congress, India’s main opposition party, on Tuesday (12) lashed out at prime minister Narendra Modi over his remarks related to human rights in the country and said the latter made a mockery of human rights since his days in Gujarat where he served as the chief minister for more than 12 years.
Senior Congress member of the Rajya Sabha and former central minister Jairam Ramesh said in a tweet, “The PM & HM have made a mockery of human rights since their Gujarat days. Now they are joined in the jugalbandi by Chairman of NHRC no less, a judge who sat in judgment on his own earlier order and claimed no conflict of interest. The democratic space in India continues to shrink”
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The PM & HM have made a mockery of human rights since their Gujarat days. Now they are joined in the jugalbandi by Chairman of NHRC no less, a judge who sat in judgment on his own earlier order and claimed no conflict of interest. The democratic space in India continues to shrink
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) October 12, 2021
Ramesh’s remarks came after Modi criticised those who engage in “selective interpretation” of human rights with an eye on political gains and losses, saying such conduct harms human rights as well as democracy. He said this at the 28th foundation of India’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) which was on Tuesday. The prime minister, who took a veiled dig at the opposition, said the country should be wary of such people who harm its image in the name of raising human rights violations.
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Modi was accompanied by Indian home minister Amit Shah and NHRC chairperson Arun Kumar Mishra, a retired judge.
“There is another aspect associated with human rights which I want to speak about today. In recent years, some people have begun interpreting human rights in their own ways prioritising their interests. They see human rights violation in one incident but cannot see it in another incident of similar nature. Such mindset harms human rights a lot,” the prime minister said.
Pawan Khera, a Congress spokesperson, also slammed Modi saying the latter was always indulging in whataboutery.
“The whataboutery prime minister should speak up and say what did he do or where did he go to protest against the human rights violations in other states,” he said.
Another veteran Congress leader and parliamentarian Kapil Sibal also blasted Modi over his claim that India never had a decisive government.
“‘Prime Minister Modi: India has never seen such a decisive government’. Also, India has never seen such a divisive government. Which statement is true? Which one is far from the truth? You judge,” Sibal, also a former central minister, said in a tweet.
Prime Minister Modi :
“India has never seen such a decisive government..”
Also
India has never seen such a divisive government
Which statement is true ?
Which one is far from the truth ?You judge
— Kapil Sibal (@KapilSibal) October 12, 2021
