Attacks on Indians in US are stray incidents, says Sushma
The United States has responded positively to India’s concerns over a string of attacks on Indians, foreign minister Sushma Swaraj told Parliament on Wednesday, describing them as stray incidents that did not reflect the sentiment of most Americans.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha on mounting attacks on Indians on US soil, including the fatal shooting of techie Srinivas Kuchibhotla in Kansas last month, Swaraj said the safety and security of Indians living abroad was a “top priority” for the government.
Swaraj also rebuffed charges by Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge and CPI(M)’s Md Salim of government’s inaction and said all possible help was extended to Srinivas’ family.
“To say that we did not take any step or maintained silence is absolutely wrong. This government can never keep silent over such incidents. This is not in our work culture. We always do more than what is expected of us,” she said.
The minister added that even when she was convalescing from a kidney transplant last year, she spoke to the family members of the victims and officers of Indian consulate general had reached out to them.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is being accused of silence, sought daily updates from her ministry amid his busy election campaign, Swaraj said.
“In all three cases (of attacks on Indians in US), the government has given all possible helps to the family of the victims. The government took up the issues at high level of the US administration. We have expressed our concern over such incidents and asked for speedy investigation,” she said.
“These are stray incidents and they don’t reflect the sentiments of entire America towards Indians,” Swaraj said in her first remarks on the attacks.
Thirty-two-year-old Kuchibhotla and his colleague Alok Madasani, both employees at GPS maker Garmin, were shot by a former US soldier, who mistook them for Middle-easterners.
Since then, a Sikh man had been shot and wounded in his driveway in Kent by a white man in a mask, who shouted “go back to your country”. Later, a video of Indian families at a public park in Ohio surfaced, apparently filmed by an anti-immigrant zealot who could barely conceal his distaste for Indians.
The spate of attacks has left the three-million-strong Indian American community worried and many say they are concerned about rising anti-immigrant feelings in the country.
SWARAJ ALSO REBUFFED CHARGES BY CONGRESS LEADER MALLIKARJUN KHARGE AND CPI(M)’S MD SALIM OF INACTION