White House condemns journalist's harassment for questioning PM Modi
The White House on Monday condemned the online harassment faced by Sabrina Siddiqui, the journalist who had asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi a question at a press conference last week. Siddiqui, who works for the Wall Street Journal, posed a question to Modi about minority rights in India during his joint press conference with United States (US) President Joe Biden on Thursday.
Condemn any harassment of journalists: White House
During a press briefing, John Kirby, the Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council, said, "We're aware of the reports of that harassment. It's unacceptable, and we absolutely condemn any harassment of journalists anywhere under any circumstances." "That's just, that's completely unacceptable, and it's antithetical to the principles of democracy that...were on display last week during the state visit," he added.
Harassers include associates of Modi government: WSJ
Kirby's statement was in response to a question by another journalist from the WSJ, who said their colleague, Siddiqui, had been subjected to "some intense online harassment from people inside India" since interacting with Modi. "Some of them are politicians, they have associations with the Modi government...And in part, they've been targeting her because of her Muslim faith and questioning her heritage," they added.
Siddiqui questioned Modi about rights of religious minorities
On Thursday, Modi took questions at a press meet in Washington for the first time since November 2015. During the presser, Siddiqui questioned Modi about the rights of religious minorities and freedom of speech in India. "What steps are you and your government willing to take to improve the rights of Muslims and other minorities in your country and uphold free speech?" she asked.
No question of discrimination on grounds of religion: Modi
In reply, Modi said, "We are a democracy. India and America both have democracy in our DNA. Democracy is in our spirit and we live it and it's written in our Constitution." "So no question of discrimination on the grounds of caste, creed or religion arises. That is why, India believes in sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas, sabka prayaas," he added.
Watch: Modi's reply to Siddiqui
BJP's Amit Malviya said Siddiqui's question was 'motivated'
Following the presser, Amit Malviya, the head of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) IT cell, called Siddiqui's question "motivated" and said that she was given a "fitting answer" by Modi. His comments led to several users targeting Siddiqui for her Muslim heritage and her connections to Pakistan. Meanwhile, Congress leader Digyvijaya Singh asked Modi's office to identify Siddiqui's trollers and take strict action.
WSJ, SAJA condemn Siddiqui's online harassment
Notably, Siddiqui was trolled so intensely that she called out the trollers on Twitter. According to the WSJ, Siddiqui is a "respected journalist known for her integrity and unbiased reporting." It added that the "harassment of our reporter is unacceptable, and we strongly condemn it." On Saturday, the South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA) also extended its support to Siddiqui after she faced online harassment.
