External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar pushed back against recent comments made by US President Joe Biden, asserting Bharat is not xenophobic but rather a very open and welcoming nation. Jaishankar addressed Biden’s remarks and refuted allegations of India’s economic slowdown.
Defending Bharat’s stance, Jaishankar cited the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) as evidence of Bharat’s openness to immigrants in need. He stated, “India is open to people who have a need and a claim to come to India.”
Few days back, Joe Biden had termed Bharat along with Japan, China, and Russia “xenophobic” because “they don’t want immigrants”. He further attributed China’s bad economic condition, Bharat, Japan and Russia’s trouble to “xenophobic” nature of these nations whereas the US “welcomes immigrants”.
Jaishankar responded, “Bharat always has been a very unique country. In the history of the world, that it’s been a society which has been very open, different people from different societies came to Bharat.”
Besides, he added the Narendra Modi Government’s legislations facilitate such movement and “that’s why we have the CAA or Citizenship Amendment Act, which is to open up doors for people, who are in trouble. I think we should be open to people, who have the need to come to Bharat, who have a claim to come to Bharat.”
Defending the CAA, which came under national and international criticism at the time of its enactment, Jaishankar further remarked, “There are people who publicly said on record that because of CAA, a million Muslims will lose their citizenship in this country. Why are they not being held to account? It’s because nobody has lost citizenship.”
Additionally, Jaishankar addressed the ongoing anti-Israel protests in American university campuses and slammed the portrayal of Bharat by the Western media. He highlighted a concerning trend among certain sections of Western media, describing them as “very ideological” entities striving to shape the global narrative to suit their agendas.
Jaishankar pointed out that segments of the media in Bharat also exhibit political biases, which influence the nature of their reporting. He characterised certain reports, including numerous indices, as nothing more than political manoeuvres aimed at discrediting certain parties or ideologies.
He remarked, “They have openly displayed their political affiliations and preferences, often advocating for specific political parties in Bharat. Their coverage frequently delves into partisan narratives and takes clear stances on issues. It’s essential to contextualise their comments and judgments within this framework. These are not impartial assessments but rather reflections of vested interests and agendas.”
Referring to the US campus protests, Jaishankar further said there is a difference between what people in the West preach and practice.
In response to a question on reports of Indian hands in targeted killings of terrorists in Pakistan, Jaishankar said “things will happen” to terrorists as they are in such large numbers in Pakistan.
“Terrorists are there in large numbers. Statistically, where they will be in large numbers, things will happen to them. Now they have created an industry which is the terrorist’s industry, things could happen there,” said Jaishankar.
