· Asks PM Modi to break silence, register strong protest with US
· Party accuses Modi of compromising country’s sovereignty, independence
· US rubbing salt on India’s wounds: Supriya Shrinate
NEW DELHI, June 15: The Congress today strongly condemned the brutal murder of three Indian seafarers by the United States and questioned Prime Minister Modi’s abject silence on the tragedy. The party also accused Modi of compromising the country’s sovereignty, independence and dignity by not even registering a strong protest against such brutal murders with the United States.
Addressing a press conference here today, party spokesperson and the AICC Chairperson of the Social Media and Digital Platforms, Ms Supriya Shrinate condoled the death of Aditya Sharma, Shivanand Chuarasiya and Patnala Suresh and expressed profound sympathies with the bereaved families.
Condemning the US for rubbing salt into Indians’ wounds, she pointed out the brutal reaction of the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio after Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke to him about the killings.
She pointed out, quite contrary to the claims made by Jaishankar that India had registered strong objections, Rubio had neither expressed any regret nor any sympathies for the bereaved families but had instead threatened further that it can do the same thing in future.
The senior Congress leader noted that only one of the two (Jaishankar and Rubio) was speaking the truth. She said, Rubio seemed to be speaking the truth as otherwise it would have been contradicted by the government of India.
She said India should have demanded a formal apology, compensation for the families and assurances regarding the safety of Indian sailors working in the region. She also argued that New Delhi should have considered postponing engagements related to ongoing India-US trade negotiations in light of the incident.
The Congress spokesperson further noted that the government’s handling of the issue reflected weaknesses in India’s foreign policy and questioned whether the Prime Minister would raise the matter with US President Donald Trump during his forthcoming interaction along the sidelines of the G-7 summit in Paris.
Drawing comparisons with previous governments, Shrinate cited the handling of diplomatic disputes during the tenures of former prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Manmohan Singh, contending that earlier administrations had responded more firmly to perceived challenges involving India’s national interests.
She particularly mentioned the incident related to Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragare in the US during the time of Dr Manmohan Singh. She said, government of India not only launched a strong protest, but also withdrew security from the US embassy in New Delhi. Consequently, she disclosed, the then US Secretary of State John Kerry specially called the Indian National Security Advisor to regret the incident.
Ms Shrinate questioned the proposed visit of the US trade representative for finalizing the trade deal. She said, given the situation and anger prevailing across the country over the sailors’ killings the visit should have been postponed.
The senior Congress leader demanded that the Prime Minister address the nation on the issue, personally reach out to the bereaved families and assure them of justice. She also called for the immediate repatriation of the bodies with state honours, financial assistance and employment support for dependents of the victims.
Among other demands, Congress sought a formal apology from the United States, compensation for affected families, stronger diplomatic action at international forums, a review of maritime security arrangements for Indian citizens working in high-risk regions abroad and an all-party discussion in Parliament on the incident and India’s foreign policy response.
Ms Shrinate asserted that international laws were strongly in favour of India as US had violated the Geneva Convention and the Charter 38 of the United Nations. She demanded that India must raise the matter in the international forums.
