US Religious Freedom Panel Ex Chief Slams Obama’s Remark on India

I think the former president (Obama) should spend his energy complimenting India, more than criticizing India, former commissioner of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said on Obama's remarks on India.

Written by: India.com News Desk Edited by: Abhijeet Sen

Updated: June 27, 2023, 8:47 AM IST

Share

Share Article

• Facebook
• WhatsApp
• X
• Email
• Telegram
• Linkedin

https://www.india.com/us/us-narendramodi-religious-freedom-panel-ex-chief-slams-obamas-india-remark-6134610/ Copy

Earlier, Obama had stated that it would be important to bring up the safety of the Muslim minority in a predominantly Hindu India if President Joe Biden and PM Modi met. (Image: ANI)

New Delhi: Johnnie Moore, a former commissioner of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), believes that former president Barack Obama should focus more of his time on praising India than on criticising it.

“I think the former president (Obama) should spend his energy complimenting India, more than criticizing India. India is the most diverse country in human history. It’s not a perfect country, just like the United States, it’s not a perfect country, but its diversity is its strength, and we should be complimenting the largest democracy in the world every chance that we can, that we have,” Moore, an evangelical leader, the officer said in an interview to ANI.

What Obama Said:

In an interview with CNN on Thursday, Obama said there is a good chance that India could eventually start to break apart if ethnic minorities’ rights are not protected. Obama also stated that it would be important to bring up the safety of the Muslim minority in a predominantly Hindu India if President Joe Biden and PM Modi met, as reported by NDTV.

“By the way, if I had a conversation with Prime Minister Modi, who I know well, part of my argument would be that if you do not protect the rights of ethnic minorities in India, then there is a strong possibility that India, at some point, starts pulling apart. And we have seen what happens when you start getting those kinds of large internal conflicts. So that would be contrary to the interests not just of Muslim Indians but also Hindu Indians. I think it is important to be able to talk about these things honestly. Things are not going to be as clean as you like, because the world is complicated,” the former US President earlier said to CNN, the report added.

#WATCH | Reacting to former US President Barack Obama's remarks about the rights of Indian Muslims, Johnnie Moore, former Commissioner of US Commission on International Religious Freedom, says, "I think the former president (Barack Obama) should spend his energy complimenting… pic.twitter.com/227e1p17Ll

— ANI (@ANI) June 26, 2023