Washington: The White House has condemned the attacks on an American journalist on social media for questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a joint press conference with President Joe Biden and termed it as ‘completely unacceptable’. Last week, Wall Street Journal reporter Sabrina Siddiqui questioned Prime Minister Modi about the rights of minorities in India and asked what steps his government was considering to improve this direction. A day after the press conference, the journalist was slammed on social media for asking questions to Modi, with some alleging that she was asking questions in a pre-planned manner. Some even called the woman journalist a ‘Pakistani Islamist’. In response to a question, John Kirby, the National Security Council’s coordinator for strategic communications, told reporters on Monday, ‘We have received reports of that harassment. this is unacceptable. And we strongly condemn any kind of harassment of journalists anywhere under any circumstances. This is unethical in terms of the principles of democracy which were displayed during the state visit last week.
PM Modi touched feet, sang India’s national anthem Jana Gana Mana… Who is American singer Mary Milben?‘Democracy in India’s veins’
Responding to Siddiqui’s question, Modi strongly defended India’s record on democracy, saying the basic premise of his government was ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas and sabka prayas’. He had said, ‘India is a democracy. And as President Biden said, democracy is in the DNA of both India and America. We have democracy in our veins. “We at the White House are committed to freedom of the press under this administration, and that’s why we held the press conference last week,” said White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre.
Trends started coming as soon as PM Modi’s US tour ended, US will return more than 100 antiques
What did the White House say?
“We strongly condemn any attempt to intimidate or harass journalists who are just trying to do their jobs,” he said. Did Prime Minister Modi and President Biden discuss subjects like freedom of the press and human rights? In response to this question, Jean-Pierre said that President Biden would never hesitate to discuss the issue of human rights with any world leader or head of state. He said, ‘We think it is important for all of you and also for the journalists asking questions to communicate on behalf of the two leaders, not only the President (Biden), but also the Prime Minister (Modi).’