COURTESY HT FEB 8

US India Caucus takes up farm stir with Indian envoy

HT Correspondent

letters@hindustantimes.com

New Delhi : The leadership Congressional India Caucus, a group of US lawmakers striving for better ties with India, has called on the Indian leadership to maintain democratic norms and allow peaceful protests.

The matter was raised by the leadership of the India Caucus during a virtual meeting with Indian ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu on Saturday to discuss the farmers’ protest, Brad Sherman, the Democratic co-chair of the caucus, said on Twitter.

Sherman tweeted that he convened a meeting of the leadership of the India Caucus, including Republican co-chair Steve Chabot and vice chair Ro Khanna, to speak with Sandhu “regarding the farmers’ demonstrations”.

“I urged the Indian government to make sure that the norms of democracy are maintained, that protesters are allowed to protest peaceably and to have access to the Internet, and to journalists,” Sherman said.

“All friends of India hope that the parties can reach an agreement,” he added.

There was no immediate response from Indian officials to Sherman’s comments.

Sandhu said on Twitter that he had detailed discussions “on varied issues with the leadership of the House Caucus on India and Indian Americans”. He didn’t specifically refer to the farmers’ protest. “Look forward to working closely with them to further strengthening India-US ties,” Sandhu said.

The caucus on India and Indian Americans, which is the largest country-specific caucus in the US House of Representatives, has joined organisations, lawmakers and celebrities in the US, the UK and other countries in taking up the farmers’ protest with the Indian side.

The US state department on Thursday called for dialogue to address the farmers’ protest and backed peaceful demonstrations and freedom of expression. It also described peaceful protests and unhindered access to information and the internet as indicators of a “thriving democracy”, while offering support for reforms that improve and open up India’s markets to attract private investments.

The Indian government has maintained that the farmers’ protest is an internal matter that should be seen in the context of the country’s democratic ethos and the several rounds of talks held by the government with farmers’ unions opposed to three farm laws.