External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar cancelled a meeting with members of a key committee of the US Congress this week, The Washington Post has reported.
The Washington Post said Jaishankar cancelled the meeting with members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee after US officials refused to comply with Indian demands to exclude one member—Representative Pramila Jayapal—who had been critical of the Narendra Modi government's handling of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir since August.
Jaishankar was in Washington D.C., along with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, for the '2+2' summit with their US counterparts. According to The Washington Post, Jaishankar was to have met with “chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Eliot L. Engel, the committee’s top Republican, Rep. Michael McCaul, and others, including Rep. Pramila Jayapal”.
Jayapal is an Indian-origin lawmaker who was born in Chennai and is a Democrat representing the 7th Congressional district of Washington State.
Two weeks ago, Jayapal introduced a Congress resolution urging India to "lift restrictions on communications in Jammu and Kashmir as swiftly as possible and preserve religious freedom for all residents". The move by Jayapal had angered sections of the Indian-American community; her office reportedly received over 25,000 emails from community members urging her not to table the resolution. While the resolution does not have the force of law and is not binding, it would bring negative publicity to the Modi government.
The Washington Post reported that Engel rejected the precondition that Jayapal not be included in the committee meeting with Jaishankar, following “which the Indians pulled out,” Jayapal said.
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Responding to the report, Jaishankar told ANI, I “don't it (report) is fair understanding of situation in Jammu and Kashmir or fair characterisation of what government of India is doing. I have no interest in meeting her [Jayapal].”
“This only furthers the idea that the Indian government isn’t willing to listen to any dissent at all... The seriousness of this moment should’ve been a reason for a conversation, not dictating who’s in the meeting, which seems very petty,” Jayapal told The Washington Post.
While the Donald Trump administration has been guarded in its response to the agitation over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in India and the continuing shutdown in Jammu and Kashmir, US officials have issued periodic statements on the need to protect minorities and respect religious rights.
Jayapal told The Washington Post that the Citizenship Act “adds a whole level of complexity to India as a secular democracy—one of the great prides of the country”.
