Sushma back with a bang
Says govt has taken up with US the issue of hate attacks
Members in the Lok Sabha, cutting across party lines, on Wednesday extended a warm welcome to external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj when she came to the House after a long absence due to health reasons.
As soon as she was spotted stepping into her front-row seat after the Question Hour, members began thumping their desks and it continued for some time as she took her seat. Greeting 65-year-old Ms Swaraj, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan wished her a long and healthy life. A smiling Ms Swaraj, appearing a little wan, accepted wishes from her and other members.
Union ministers Uma Bharti and Sadananda Gowda as also Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia then went to her to wish her. Leader of the Congress in the House Mallikarjun Kharge welcomed her from his seat and wished her a long and healthy life in serving the nation.
Meanwhile, Ms Swaraj indicated on Wednesday that there was no reason for the Indian government to issue an advisory for citizens travelling to the United States despite recent attacks on both Indians and persons of Indian origin there. She said that the US government has given India “confidence that these incidents are acts of individuals and do not represent the overwhelming sentiments of the American people towards India”. She also told the Lok Sabha that India had conveyed its concerns to the US government at “very high levels”, and that New Delhi had already “called for necessary measures to ensure the safety and security of the Indian diaspora and expeditious investigation into these incidents”. She said the “US authorities have responded strongly and assured us that they are working with all concerned agencies to ensure speedy justice”.
Pointing out that “in the last three weeks, three incidents of physical attack in the United States on Indian nationals and persons of Indian origin have come to the notice of the government,” Ms Swaraj, in a statement to the Lok Sabha, said, “A related question was raised... on whether the government plans to issue an advisory for Indians travelling to or residing in the US. I would say that prompt and clear response of the US political leadership and the law enforcement authorities to these incidents, and the widespread messages of sympathy and support from all quarters in the US, give us confidence that these incidents are acts of individuals and do not represent the overwhelming sentiments of the American people towards India...”