Trump keen to talk religious freedom with Indian PM
>>WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump will raise the issue of religious freedom in India during his meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week, a senior administration official said, a sensitive subject for the Indian government.
Mr Modi’s government has faced large-scale protests at home and criticism abroad for enacting a citizenship law that is seen as discriminating against Muslims and has deepened concerns his administration is undermining India’s secular traditions.
That measure came months after the Indian government withdrew the special autonomy given to the Muslim-majority territory of Kashmir, tightening its hold. It also jailed dozens of political opponents and separatists and imposed a communications blackout.
Mr Trump, who is due in India on Monday, will talk about the two countries’ shared traditions of democracy and religious freedom, the senior administration official said in a conference call on Friday.
“He will raise these issues, particularly the religious freedom issue, which is extremely important to this administration,” the official said.
Mr Modi’s ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party denies any bias against the country’s 180 million Muslims.
It has strongly rebuffed foreign criticism, saying the changes in Kashmir and the new citizenship law were internal matters. In recent months, New Delhi has clashed with Muslim-majority countries such as Turkey and Malaysia after they criticised the government’s policies.
Mr Modi, who has built a personal rapport with Mr Trump, is pulling out all stops for the visit, which will kick off in his political hometown of Ahmedabad with a massive public reception.
Soon after winning a second term in office last year, Mr Modi had spoken about his government’s priority of inclusive growth for everyone, including religious minorities, the administration official said.
“And I think that the president will talk about these issues in his meetings with Prime Minister Modi and note that the world is looking to India to continue to uphold its democratic traditions,” the official said.