WASHINGTON, 27 Jun: The White House has condemned as “totally unacceptable” the harassment of a US journalist on social media for asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi a question at his joint press conference here with President Joe Biden.
Last week, The Wall Street Journal reporter Sabrina Siddiqui asked Modi about the rights of minorities in India and what steps his government was willing to take to improve them and also uphold free speech.
A day after the joint press conference, the reporter faced online abuse for questioning the prime minister, with some alleging that her question was “motivated” and calling her a “Pakistani Islamist.”
“We’re aware of the reports of that harassment. It’s unacceptable. And we absolutely condemn any harassment of journalists anywhere under any circumstances. That’s completely unacceptable. And it’s antithetical to the very principles of democracy that were on display last week during the state visit,” National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby told reporters on Monday in response to a question.
In response to Siddiqui’s question, Modi had strongly defended India’s record on democracy and his government’s performance and human rights, saying that the basic foundation stone of his government has been ‘Sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas and sabka prayas’, which means together for everyone’s growth, with everyone’s trust.
“We certainly condemn any efforts of intimidation or harassment of a journalist or any journalist that is just trying to do their job. And so, I just want to be very clear about that,” the White House said.
Meanwhile, the South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA) expressed support for Siddiqui in the wake of the online abuse against her.
“We want to express our continued support of our colleague @SabrinaSiddiqui who, like many South Asian and female journalists, is experiencing harassment for simply doing her job. Press freedom is the hallmark of any democracy and PM Modi leads the world’s largest democracy,” the SAJA said in a tweet.
A day after the joint press conference, Siddiqui took to Twitter and wrote, “Since some have chosen to make a point of my personal background, it feels only right to provide a fuller picture. Sometimes identities are more complex than they seem.” Accompanying her tweet were two photographs in which she is wearing a blue jersey of the Indian cricket team, and an April 2011 picture with her father when India won the 2011 cricket World Cup. (PTI)