Member of the European Parliament Izaskun Bilbao Barandica today raised question in the European Parliament on Prime Minister Modi’s remarks against Non-hindus in India. The question has been directed to the European Commission to take action.
The question raised is In May 2014, Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was elected Prime Minister of India. Modi has a highly problematic history of racism, and has been accused of involvement in the deadly Gujarat Hindu-Muslim riots of 2002 that left over 1 000 members of the Muslim community dead.
Modi was chief minister of the state at the time. In an interview with the New York Times in 2002, Modi said that his only regret was that he didn’t manage the media better. Following this interview, the US imposed a visa ban on Modi and the United Kingdom announced a 10-year boycott. During his electoral campaign, Modi reiterated his rhetoric on immigration, calling for all non-Hindus to leave India and go back to their own countries. India’s population includes a large number of minority groups who typically live in extremely poor conditions.
What steps will the EU take, in cooperation with the Indian Government, to address the issue of inequality in India?
Is this issue of social, racial and religious discrimination part of the ongoing EU-India Free Trade Agreement negotiations?
Considering the fact that national policies on minorities could potentially pose a threat to peace and security in South Asia, is the EU pursuing a collective agreement with countries in the region to address such concerns
