New Delhi: The US is trying to “complicate” the general election in India and interfere in its internal affairs, Russia said on Wednesday (May 8).
Its foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova also said that Washington has not yet provided “reliable evidence” of Indian citizens’ involvement in the alleged plot to murder pro-Khalistan activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on US soil.
During a press briefing on Wednesday, Zakharova was asked about the Washington Post newspaper’s April 29 report naming an Indian intelligence officer as being behind the alleged Pannun murder plot.
She was asked how Russia felt about the allegations and about the Post‘s comparison of the plot to tactics previously associated with “repressive regimes” like Russia.
“According to the information available to us, Washington has not yet provided any reliable evidence of the involvement of Indian citizens in the preparation of the assassination of a certain G.S. Pannoun [sic],” Zakharova said referring to the alleged plot.
She continued: “Speculation on this topic in the absence of evidence is unacceptable.”
Zakharova also said the Post should use the term ‘repressive regime’ to refer to the US government.
In November last year, US prosecutors accused an Indian citizen of trying to hire a hitman to kill a person who is understood to be Pannun on US soil and that he did so at the behest of an Indian government official.
Prosecutors did not name the Indian official but the Post identified him as Vikram Yadav of the Research and Analysis Wing.
Pivoting to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recommending for the fifth time that India be classified as a ‘country of particular concern’ in its annual report, Zakharova accused the US of harbouring a “neo-colonial mentality”.
She said the report made “unfounded accusations” against the Indian government and reflected Washington’s “lack of understanding of the national mentality, the historical context of the development of the Indian state and its lack of respect for India as a state”.
“I am sure that this comes from the neo-colonial mentality, the mentality of the colonial period, the period of the slave trade, imperialism,” Zakharova said.
USCIRF’s report said that the BJP government “reinforced discriminatory nationalist policies, perpetuated hateful rhetoric, and failed to address communal violence disproportionately affecting” India’s religious minorities.
It also flagged the alleged Pannun murder plot, saying Indian authorities are increasingly engaging in ‘transnational repression’ against religious minorities living outside the country.
Indian external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal accused the commission of being biased and characterised its report as interference in India’s general election.
Zakharova echoed Jaiswal’s claims in her press briefing, both while answering the question on the Post‘s report and a separate question specifically addressing Jaiswal’s remarks.
“I think this is a desire to complicate the general parliamentary elections in India on the part of the United States and part of a campaign to interfere in India’s internal affairs,” Zakharova said.
During his campaign for the elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been criticised for his remarks on Muslims, where he obliquely referred to them as “those who have more children” and as “infiltrators”.
The BJP has also released videos demonising Muslims, including one whose takedown the Election Commission ordered on Tuesday citing violations of polling regulations. It has not yet acted against the BJP for posting the video.
