NEW DELHI, June 27: The White House has denounced the “intense online harassment” of the Wall Street Journal reporter Sabrina Siddiqui by “people from inside India” for her asking the uncomfortable question on democracy in India to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his joint press conference with President Joe Biden in the US last week.
Top official John Kirby, in response to the Wall Street Journal’s question on its reporter, said the White House was “aware of the reports of that harassment… The Wall Street Journal said since she asked the question, Ms Siddiqui had been subjected to “some intense online harassment from people inside India.” She was also being targeted, in part, because of her Muslim faith, said the newspaper.
“It’s unacceptable. And we absolutely condemn any harassment of journalists anywhere under any circumstances. That’s just – that’s completely unacceptable. And it’s antithetical to the very principles of democracy that – you’re right – were on display last week during the state visit,” said Mr Kirby, who is the White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications.
After Kirby’s statement, the White House Press Secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre went to the podium and said: “I just want to reiterate a little bit what John said – we’re certainly here at the White House under this administration, we are committed to freedom of the Press, which is why we had the press conference last week. So just want to remind folks, that’s why we had the press conference last week. Also, we certainly condemn any efforts of intimidation or harassment of any journalist that is just trying to do their job.”
Responding to Ms Siddiqui’s question at the press conference after his bilateral talks with President Biden on Thursday, Modi had said there was “no question of discrimination” in India because his government followed the Constitution.
The journalist said many human rights groups talked about discrimination and silencing of critics in India. “What steps are you and your government willing to take to improve the rights of Muslims and other minorities in your country and to uphold free speech?” she asked.
“I am surprised at what you said. We are a democracy. Democracy is in our spirit, and flows in our veins. We live and breathe democracy. And it is in our Constitution,” the Prime Minister had shot back. “If there are no human values and human rights, there is no democracy… When we live democracy, there is no question of discrimination,” Modi asserted, adding that everyone had access to amenities, irrespective of religion, caste, age or geography.
The Q and A provoked sharp reactions in India. “Prime Minister Modi completely destroyed the motivated question on steps being taken to ‘protect’ rights of Muslims and other minorities. In his response he didn’t mention Muslims or any other denomination, spoke about Constitution, access to Government resources based on eligibility and no discrimination based on caste, creed, religion or geography… After President Biden’s cold response to a similar question, this was another blow to the toolkit gang,” tweeted Amit Malviya, the head of BJP’s IT cell.
Ms Siddiqui, responding to criticism directed at her online, shared photos of her wearing the team India t-shirt and cheering for the cricket team with her father, who was born in India. “Since some have chosen to make a point of my personal background, it feels only right to provide a fuller picture. Sometimes identities are more complex than they seem,” she wrote in the tweet.
(Manas Dasgupta)