Hearing on Indian minorities one sided: alleges US Congressman

An influential US lawmaker today questioned the intention of a key Congressional committee on human rights to hold a hearing on plight of religious minorities in India ahead of the general elections.
"From the selection of witnesses to timing to failing to seek a fair and balanced view, everything about hearing fell short, suggesting that the hearing may have been a last ditch effort to influence India's upcoming elections by focusing on the 2002 riots in Gujarat some 12 years after the fact," Congressman Eni Faleomavaega, said.
A ranking member of the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific - which has broad jurisdiction for US foreign policy affecting the region, including India, Faleomavaega in a statement questioned the intent of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in holding a hearing about the rights and freedoms of religious minorities in India ahead of elections.

"The purpose of the Commission is to promote, defend and advocate internationally recognised human rights norms in a nonpartisan manner, both within and outside of Congress, as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other relevant human rights instruments.
"By inviting a panel of witnesses that give voice to only one side of an issue, I believe the Commission drifts from its mission, whether intentionally or not," he said.
Faleomavaega in the past has been instrumental in passage of non-binding Congressional resolutions in favour of Narendra Modi, the BJP's prime ministerial candidate.
"India is a multi-cultural and multi-religious democracy. India, like the United States, has an independent and transparent Judiciary and, after an investigation that has been ongoing for more than a decade, Modi has been cleared by the highest court in the land of any and all allegations that he intentionally failed to protect Muslims during religious violence in Gujarat," he said.

"As the world's oldest democracy, it is our responsibility to let the people of India choose their man of destiny without undue influence from the United States," he said.