New Delhi: India’s trade and security relations with the world’s most powerful nation will largely remain unaffected despite the outcome of a bitter Presidential race in the US but Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government may face issues over the minority rights if the Democrats take the White House, says Sanjay Baru, Prime Minister’s Media Advisor during Dr Manmohan Singh’s tenure.
Experts like Sanjay Baru, a former journalist and a keen observer of domestic and international politics, believe that there will be a policy continuity regardless of the outcome of election in the US, particularly in the areas of security and economic issues as India enjoys bipartisan support in the country.
“If Trump wins then there will be a very smooth transition as both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and external affairs minister S Jaishankar have invested a lot in the relationship with Trump by even accepting this 2+2 meeting recently,” Baru told ETV Bharat in an exclusive interview.
He, however, explains that some efforts will be required to build the relationship if Joe Biden wins as some Democrats are not happy with the Modi government over the treatment of minorities its human rights record.
“There are many Democrats who are not very happy with the way in which the Modi government has been functioning in the country. Questions of human rights, treatment of minorities, these are all issues that will come up and we will have to address them at our end,” Baru said.
Biden will not ignore India’s record on human rights
“I think the one area where there will be a difference in the USA’s view is that of human rights issues in India, treatment of minorities in India, Trump was willing to ignore some of those issues, Biden will not ignore these issues,” Baru told ETV Bharat.
In response to a question by ETV Bharat about Kamala Harris, who spoke against Modi government’s handling of Kashmir issue after the abrogation of Article 370 of Indian Constitution that gave special status to the state, Baru clarifies that many other Democrats have been critical of India’s record on human rights and treatment of minorities under the Modi government.
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“It’s not just Kamala Harris, Democratic Party as a party has been very critical, there are many members of the Democratic Party who have been critical of our record,” he said.
Baru, who was chief spokesperson in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) between May 2004 to August 2008 under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, underscores the contrast between the US politics and Indian politics under the Modi government, saying Indian minorities have not been fairly represented in the NDA government.
“All of us in India have been proud that Kamala Harris, who is born to an Indian mother and an African-American father, is a Presidential candidate, she may even become President. Here we do not have a single Muslim in a senior position in our cabinet,” Sanjay Baru said in response to a question by ETV Bharat.
“The world sees this, we have 13% of our population, Muslims, and yet we don’t a single Muslim in our council of ministers in a senior position, nobody in the senior position in the government, so the whole world is asking what is happening in this country,” Baru said while explaining the perception about the Modi government outside the country.
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