WASHINGTON: Journalists on Tuesday responded to threats against a reporter who questioned India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the country’s human rights issues during his state visit to Washington last week.
Sabrina Siddiqui, the White House reporter for The Wall Street Journal, was the only American journalist called on for a question during Mr Modi’s press conference alongside United States President Joe Biden last week. The journalist asked the PM about human rights issues and freedoms 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 him.
Modi responded by saying that he was “surprised” by the question and claimed that there is no discrimination in India.
Siddiqui’s questions made her the target of abuse online, with some attacks referencing her Muslim faith.
“She represented the White House press corps incredibly well and asked the questions that many of us had at the top of our lists,” said White House Correspondents Association president Tamara Keith in a statement.
“Unfortunately since then she has been subjected to intense online harassment, including from people with ties to the Prime Minister’s political party, questioning her motives, her religion and her heritage.”
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The WH on Monday also condemned the harassment Siddiqui was experiencing.
Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the White House “condemns any efforts of intimidation or harassment of a journalist or any journalist that is just trying to do their job”.
Modi’s visit stirred controversy in the United States over the reported growing repression of Muslims and other minorities in India, as well as other human rights offences, including the suppression of dissent.
Modi has rarely allowed interviews during his nine-year stretch as India’s premier. He has also never held a solo press conference.
