UN Photo/Mark Garten Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, joins the 9th International Day of Yoga celebrated at United Nations Headquarters in New York.
Indian Prime Minster’s warm welcome during his US and Egyptian recent visits has got mixed reviews and has bolstered his popularity in India, ahead of elections next year.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi welcomed Modi at the presidential palace in Cairo during his visit to Egypt with the Order of the Nile, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.
The leaders signed a declaration elevating Egyptian-Indo ties to a “strategic partnership,” under which the two nations agreed to intensify their cooperation and hold periodic talks, the statement said. This strategic trip is expected to pave the way for a substantial increase in India’s investment in the North African country and a ladder for Egypt to gain entry to the BRICS economic bloc.
Modi had a warm welcome at United Nations in New York where he participated and the International Yoga Day celebrations. In his remarks, PM Modi stressed that Yoga is free from copyright, patents or royalties. It is unifying and is for all ethnicities, faith, cultures.
The prime minister was welcomed to the White House with the highest trappings of American friendship with marching troops on the South Lawn, extensive Oval Office talks and a state dinner in the evening, complete with a chef who specializes in plant-based cuisine to accommodate Modi’s vegetarian diet.
“I’ve long believed the relationship between the United States and India will be one of the defining relationships of the 21st century,” Biden said during an elaborate welcome ceremony.
It is indeed an honour for Modi. In contrast, despite being the chief minister, he was denied a US entry visa in 2005 based on his known human rights violation; he got cleared through a court verdict related to the Gujarat massacre of Muslims in 2002, as documented by the BBC.
Muslim US house representatives Rashida Tlaib, Representative Ilhan Omar, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Cori Bush and Kweisi Mfume also boycotted the Indian prime minister’s address to Congress in light of the violence and repression of the media and religious minorities like Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and Dalits.
Former president Barak Obama also spoke critically of Modi during his visit in media about his treatment of Muslims and minorities in India. However, he too had welcomed Modi to the US when he was president. He also got a lot of flack for having double standards about the US treatment of Muslims.
In an era of growing tensions between the US and China, there are few partners that Biden and the US is more eager to cultivate. Obama, Trump and Biden have cultivated this relationship with India despite the criticisms against Modi. Taking to reporters, Modi refuted his treatment of minorities and boasted India and the largest democracy.
While is India is said to be the largest democracy, it also uses the first past the post electoral system which favors Modi’s BJP party. Although the BJP failed to have the popular vote and majority people do not vote for the BJP and it has not been able to get a majority is parliament, they have been able to maintain power through coalition governments.
India’s main opposition Congress party defeated Prime Minister’s Narendra Modi’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in a crucial election in the southern state of Karnataka earlier in June. Experts say the win will give the Congress party a much-needed morale boost ahead of the national election due next year. Karnataka – the BJP’s only bastion in southern India and home to tech hub Bangalore – was the first of five big states to go to the polls this year.
Imtiaz Popat 