Congress slams government over 'unprecdented' UNHRC criticism

The Congress on Wednesday slammed Narendra Modi government for the "absolutely unprecedented" criticism India drew from United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on the issue of Rohingya Muslim refugees, saying the country did not face "such ignominy and international humiliation ever".

"The kind of criticism India has been subjected to by the UNHRC is absolutely unprecedented," said Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari.

"I remember in 1993 we were under a lot of attack in the UNHRC by Pakistan and its proxies. The then Congress Government had sent (later Prime Minister) Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was then Leader of the Opposition, to lead the Indian delegation to the UNHRC.

"But even then, India did not have to face this ignominy and international humiliation. You can rail against the UNHRC, you can call them all kinds of names, but the fact is, it is an inter-governmental body," he added.

"India is a member of the UNHRC and this government's track record on intolerance, on the killing of journalists, on the manner in which dissent is silenced, on the manner in which environmental activists are persecuted..

"...And I am not even talking about the stand which this government has taken on the Rohingya Muslims, which is totally contrary to India's traditions where we have welcomed the persecuted from any part of our neighborhood, this kind of ignominy India has never faced," he said.

Tewari also said it was time that the government and the Prime Minister "introspect that merely speeches and road shows with leaders of other countries does not substitute for diplomacy".

--IANS

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