Why has the Bharatiya Janata Party slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi after he met a member of the House of Representatives Ilhan Omar? The Minnesota Congresswoman is one of the US’s most vocal and controversial politicians. She has created ripples across the globe for her no-holds-barred criticism and no-nonsense approach. By criticising the foreign policy of her government, attacking Israel for alleged human rights violations in Gaza, taking on former US President Donald Trump for his alleged racist comment and many other unsavory statements, the Black leader has been on a rollercoaster for most of her political career.
Ilhan Omar Visits PoK
Ilhan Omar triggered yet another controversy two years ago when she visited Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) and angered New Delhi as she said that Washington should pay more attention to the issue of Jammu and Kashmir.
The US citizen of Somali descent said, “I don’t believe that Kashmir is being talked about to the extent it needs to in Congress but also with the administration.”
She said further, “On the question of Kashmir, we held a hearing in the foreign affairs committee of Congress to look at the reports of human rights violations.”
India: Omar’s Visit Is Condemnable
Replying to Ilhan Omar, Arindam Bagchi, Spokesperson for India’s Minisrty of External Affairs said, “Let me just say that if such a politician wishes to practice her narrow-minded politics at home, that’s her business.” He also said that violating India’s territorial integrity and sovereignty makes us think the visit is condemnable.
Before she visited the land, that is considered disputed by her own country, the Democrat leader questioned what she called the reluctance of the U.S. administration to criticise Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government on human rights.
This prompted Secretary of State Antony Blinken to say that the US was monitoring what he described as a rise in human rights abuses in India by some officials.
Ilham Omar Hits Hard Joe Biden
If media reports are to be believed, Omar has been critical of U.S. foreign policy too. Hitting hard at the Joe Biden administration, the Democrat Congresswoman called for reduced funding for “perpetual war and military aggression”.
Not showing any mercy to the government of her party, the Minnesota representative said knowing her tax dollars pay for bombs killing children in Yemen makes her heartbreak with everyone in Washington saying the US doesn’t have enough money in the budget for universal health care, it does not have enough money in the budget to guarantee college education for everyone.
Why Is BJP Upset
The BJP has attacked the Gandhi scion for meeting the Muslim member of the House of Representatives for her approach on Jammu and Kashmir even though it was Atal Bihari Vajpayee who had invited the militant outfits for talks.
BJP Admits Reaching Out To Separatist Leader Gilani
The scathing attack on the Congress leader came just two days after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh recalled how the Narendra Modi government reached out to the Hurriyat Conference. He revealed that four MPs of opposition parties went to meet the separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Gilani in 2016 under the instruction of the union government, but Gilani refused to meet them and did not even open the door. Gilani has been extremely vocal on the issue of the referendum in Jammu and Kashmir and he has openly advocated for merging Kashmir into Pakistan.
Congress Targeted Ahead Of J&K Election
The attack has also come ahead of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Election, where many separatist leaders have decided to join the electoral fray. The BJP has attacked the Congress for making a coalition with the National Conference and attacked both parties for allegedly hobnobbing with the separatists. The saffron party seems to have forgotten the fact that it made coalition with both the National Conference and the People Democratic Party.
Does the BJP want to reap the political dividends from Rahul Gandhi’s US visit? Is the saffron outfit upset with the rising political credentials of the Congress leader? It has simply used Ilhan Omar as a whip to hit the Congress scion.
