The Chicago City Council on Wednesday rejected a proposal that sought to interfere in India’s internal matters citing ‘violence against certain castes and religious minorities’, after receiving strong pushback from the Indian-American diaspora in the country. The proposed draft of the resolution called Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP government as Hindu extremist, denounced the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) that was passed through a democratic process in India’s Parliament as discriminatory and unconstitutional. However, the resolution was ultimately defeated in an 18-26 vote, which would have been non-binding, even if passed.
While America’s own house is not in order, the legislators behind the daft resolution called upon the “congressional delegation and new federal administration” i.e. the Joe Biden administration to “support legislation and other action” in order to “promote tolerance” in India.
One of the aldermen of the Chicago council gave a befitting reply to Ald. Maria Hadden, who had brought the resolution in the first place. “If we take this on, why not take on the Chinese ethnic cleansing debate?” said Southwest Side Al George Cardenas. “Why not deal with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
“We are a global city, I consider us a global city. But we have many pressing issues here at home that need our attention,” said George whilst signing off.
It is imperative to note that the contentious resolution had referenced the U.S. Government’s Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIF) ill-advised recommendation to designate India as a “country for particular concern” for “engaging in and tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations, as defined by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA)”.
Read more: The day USCIRF termed India “Anti-Muslim”, a country of 80% Hindus was crying for a Muslim
Reported by TFI, the sham of a federal commission and its report did not have any leg to stand on from the beginning and was even rejected by its own committee members. The report had made deliberate misinterpretations about enactments like the CAA and Article 370 abrogation.
Commissioner Gary L Bauer dissented saying, “I must dissent from the decision of my fellow Commissioners to recommend India, the world’s largest democracy, for designation as a ‘country of particular concern’, or CPC, placing India in a gallery of rogue nations in which it does not belong.”
Read more: “India is a democracy, not a rogue nation,” USCIRF report on India gets rejected by its own members
“We reject the observations on India in the USCIRF Annual Report. Its biased and tendentious comments against India are not new. But on this occasion, its misrepresentation has reached new levels.” Anurag Srivastava, the former MEA spokesperson had said last year.
According to Chicago Tribune, Amitabh Mittal, general secretary of the World Hindu Council of America, who opposed the resolution, said before the vote, “This has nothing to do with America, but it creates a very derogatory image for future Indian generations.”
Mittal, who also serves as secretary for the US India Friendship Council, said that the purpose of this resolution was to push a narrative of discrimination and abuse of minorities in India. He said the new citizenship law was “a very humanitarian law” because it assured citizenship to refugees. Mittal, who lives in the suburbs, said that Chicago’s City Council should focus on issues related to Chicago.
While the USA is battling with immigration crisis, gun laws, BLM and other such contentious issues which probably need urgent attention of the Chicago City Council, its woke and unhinged members are busy poking their nose in the internal matters of a foreign country, driven by nothing but false agendas peddled by anti-India forces.