Not roses all the way for Modi in America

It wouldn't be roses all the way when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits the US with protesters planning black flag rallies and holding a "Citizens' Court" to try him for his alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

The Indian Supreme Court has exonerated Modi thrice for his alleged failure to control the riots as Gujarat chief minister, as the New York Times noted, but a Sikh human rights group plans to indict him right when he is holding his Sep 30 summit with President Barack Obama.

The indictment proceedings for "attacks on religious minorities in India" would be "conducted in a replica court room set up in the President's Park right in the front of the White House", and telecast live throughout the US, rights group Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) announced.

To publicise Modi's indictment proceedings, SFJ has launched an advocacy campaign by renting dioramas displaying Modi's mug shot at several metro stations in the capital with the approval of Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, it said.

SFJ said it has collaborated with American Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (AGPC), an umbrella organisation of more than 70 US gurudwaras, to mobilise the Sikh community to attend the indictment proceedings against Modi.

Meanwhile, the recently formed Alliance for Justice and Accountability (AJA) also announced that it would show Modi black flags when he heads for the Indian-American community's public reception at the Madison Square Garden in mid-town Manhattan Sep 28.

"Black Flags for visiting PM Modi," said the AJA in a flyer sent to its members Monday.

"Come join us as we stand in protest of Narendra Modi's visit and talk in New York City at Madison Square Garden on September 28th," the alliance said in a Facebook post.

AJA has been largely formed by Indian-American organisations and individuals who were part of Coalition Against Genocide (CAG), which had successfully campaigned for denial of US visa to Modi when he was Gujarat chief minister.

"The alliance has been formed in the wake of increasing violence and incendiary rhetoric against minorities led by organisations and parties aligned with the Sangh Parivar," said Shaikh Ubaid, a founding member of both CAG and the new alliance.

"Its initial objective is to use the high profile visit of Narendra Modi to draw attention to the threats to India's pluralism," he said.

(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)