Discussions on human rights will probably be on the agenda when a high-powered delegation of U.S. members of Congress visits Delhi subsequent week, indicated a gaggle of India-focused civil rights teams that met with U.S. congressman Ro Khanna, who’s main the delegation.

Mr. Khanna, who met with representatives of a “coalition of Indian-American organisations” together with Hindus for Human Rights, the Indian-American Muslim Council, and India Civil Watch Worldwide in Washington, reportedly “expressed his want to guard minority rights in India”. Earlier this yr, Mr. Khanna had confronted an argument over his criticism of the expulsion of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi as Lok Sabha member.

This week, Mr. Khanna introduced that he would lead a bipartisan congressional delegation to India that had been invited to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s annual Independence Day speech on the Purple Fort on August 15. Through the go to, the delegation will meet PM Modi, Exterior Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and different Ministers. Mr. Khanna, who’s seen as a number one “progressive Democrat”, was earlier a member of the Congressional Pakistan Caucus in 2019, and is now the primary Indian-American to co-chair the U.S. Congressional Caucus on India and Indian People, together with Republican Congressman Michael Waltz.

“For Ro [Khanna], it is usually a personally significant time to go to as a result of his grandfather spent his life combating for [India’s Independence]”, the Congressman’s spokesperson instructed The Hindu including that he would have interaction on points together with “decarbonization, digitalization, financial partnership, protection ties, pluralism, and human rights” in the course of the “historic” journey that might “have a good time the hyperlink between America and India’s Independence and proceed to deepen the partnership”. The delegation’s go to comes two months after PM Modi’s state go to to the U.S. and a month earlier than U.S. President Biden will go to India for the primary time in his tenure, to attend the G20 summit.

Based on the coalition of teams that met him, Mr. Khanna listened to testimonies from quite a lot of civil society activists, a lot of whom had participated in protests throughout PM Modi’s go to to New York and Washington in June, and notably raised “considerations” over democratic freedoms, the therapy of minorities, and caste discrimination in India

“Congressman Ro Khanna expressed his unwavering dedication to upholding democratic values and human rights each inside India and the USA. He absolutely acknowledged the considerations articulated by the coalition and wholeheartedly endorsed the crucial of fostering a pluralistic and democratic India,” a press release issued by the coalition stated, including that Mr. Khanna had additionally dedicated to talking to the teams after he returned from his India go to.

Considerably, Mr. Khanna, who has been a proponent of India-U.S. defence ties, and moved an modification final yr to supply India a waiver on sanctions for its buy of the S-400 programs from Russia, additionally instructed the teams he deliberate to co-sponsor a brand new Invoice in U.S. Congress referred to as the “Safeguard Act”, that may stop arms gross sales to any nation that violates human rights.

Within the run-up to the go to, Mr. Khanna has highlighted the symbolism of attending Independence Day celebrations on condition that his grandfather Amarnath Vidyalankar was a freedom fighter, was imprisoned together with Mahatma Gandhi and later turned a member of the Lok Sabha with the Congress occasion. He additionally held a digital name with Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson Rajmohan Gandhi, who knew Mr. Vidyalankar, on Tuesday.

“We mentioned his reminiscences of [Mahatma] Gandhi, affirming equality over supremacy & the precept that the world is a household as I get set to guide a historic delegation to India,” Mr. Khanna, who will even go to Rajghat throughout his India go to, stated in a publish on social media. 

Earlier this yr Mr. Khanna had defended his grandfather after a number of supporters of the Modi authorities lashed out at him for his assertion calling the expulsion of Congress occasion MP Rahul Gandhi after he was convicted in a defamation case a “deep betrayal of Gandhian philosophy”. He had additionally urged PM Modi to reverse the transfer for the “sake of Indian democracy”. He additionally stated he was “saddened” when a number of social media figures, together with movie director Vivek Agnihotri, had accused Mr. Vidyalankar of supporting the 1975 Emergency in India and different “fascist selections” by the Congress occasion. After a Supreme Court docket keep final week, Mr. Gandhi was reinstated as an MP by the Lok Sabha Secretariat on Monday.

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