White House condemns the 'harassment' of a reporter who asked the Prime Minister about his rights

• Image Credit: Internet

• Jun 27, 2023 | Kabir Chakraborty

" What you said startled me. We live in a democracy. Democracy is in our blood and in our veins. Democracy is something we live and breathe. "And it is in our Constitution," the Prime Minister responded.

Digital Desk: The White House has
condemned what the Wall Street Journal describes as "intense online
harassment" of its reporter Sabrina Siddiqui, who asked Prime Minister
Narendra Modi a question about democracy in India during his joint news
conference with President Joe Biden last week in the United States.

In answer to an inquiry
from the Wall Street Journal, top official John Kirby stated that the White
House was "aware of the reports of that harassment." According to the
Wall Street Journal, Ms Siddiqui has faced "some intense online harassment
from people inside India" after asking the question. According to the
newspaper, she was also being targeted because of her Muslim faith.

"It's
unacceptably bad. And we categorically oppose any form of harassment of
journalists anywhere, at any time. That is simply - utterly inappropriate. And
it runs against to the same democratic principles that were on exhibit last
week during the state visit," said Mr Kirby, the White House National
Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications.

Following
Mr. Kirby's remarks, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre took the
podium and stated, "I just want to reiterate a little bit what John said -
we're certainly here at the White House under this administration, we're committed
to freedom of the press, which is why we had the press conference last
week." So, just to remind everyone, that is why we did the press
conference last week. We also strongly oppose any attempt to intimidate or
threaten a journalist who is simply doing their job."

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In
response to Ms Siddiqui's question during the press conference following his
bilateral meetings with President Biden on Thursday, Prime Minister Modi stated
that there was "no question of discrimination" in India because his
government obeyed the Constitution.

According
to the writer, numerous human rights organisations in India have complained
about discrimination and the suppression of critics. "What steps are you
and your government willing to take to improve the rights of Muslims and other
minorities in your country while also upholding free speech?" she
inquired.

" What
you said startled me. We live in a democracy. Democracy is in our blood and in
our veins. Democracy is something we live and breathe. "And it is in our
Constitution," the Prime Minister responded.

"There
is no democracy until there are human ideals and human rights... "There is
no question of discrimination when we live in democracy," PM Modi
asserted, adding that everyone had access to amenities regardless of religion,
caste, age, or region.

In
India, the Q&A elicited strong emotions.

"Prime Minister Modi completely demolished the motivated
question about steps being taken to 'protect' Muslims and other minorities'
rights." He did not mention Muslims or any other denomination in his
statement, instead focusing on the Constitution, access to government resources
based on eligibility, and no discrimination based on caste, creed, religion, or
location... "This was another blow to the toolkit gang after President
Biden's cold response to a similar question," tweeted Amit Malviya, the
chairman of the BJP's IT unit.

In response to internet criticism, Ms Siddiqui posted images of
herself wearing a team India t-shirt and cheering on the cricket team with her
father, who was born in India.

"Because some have
chosen to highlight my personal background, it feels only right to provide a
more complete picture." "Identities are sometimes more complicated
than they appear," she stated in the tweet.