Indian Envoy in Ireland Defends PM Modi: The Congress has slammed the Indian Ambassador to Ireland for his inappropriate response to the allegations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an Irish Times editorial.
Senior Congressman Jairam Ramesh termed the Indian ambassador to Ireland’s response to such allegations as “unprofessional and insulting”. He said the ambassador was not expected to attack opposition parties “like a partisan pundit openly”. An apparatchik works for and gives orders to a government or political party.
“Defending the Government of India is one thing and should be expected. But openly attacking opposition parties like a party pundit is not expected of an ambassador, even a political appointee. This is unprofessional and disrespectful behavior on his part – but I think it’s par for the course for Modi,” Jairam Ramesh wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
The controversy arose following an editorial titled “Modi tightens his grip” published by the Irish Times on 11 April, which criticized the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in India.
In the editorial, the newspaper said an “intolerant Hindu-first majoritarianism is the order of the day”.
The editorial compared Prime Minister Modi to Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, saying: “Modi has embraced Hindu nationalism… stoking anti-Muslim tensions and violence and seriously undermining the traditional, Nehru-inspired secularism of his politics. ”
In the editorial, he highlights what he sees as a decline in India’s democratic values and gives examples of the government’s crackdown on free expression and opposition voices, including the recent arrest and crackdown of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the Congress party. This includes so-called “financial terrorism”. ”
“95 percent of its political cases have been filed against the opposition,” the editorial said.
Reacting, Envoy in Ireland Akhilesh Mishra dismissed the editorial as “highly biased and biased”. Mishra credited Prime Minister Modi’s popularity to the government’s efforts to fight corruption.
Mishra defended the BJP government’s anti-corruption initiative, calling it necessary to restore accountability and justice to India’s political landscape.
