The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United States this week, a senior US state department official stated that Washington has consistently raised concerns regarding the treatment of minorities in discussions with its Indian counterparts.
The Ministry of External Affairs announced on Tuesday (September 17) that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a four-day visit to the US starting on September 21.
During the trip, he will participate in the Quad summit and deliver an address at the UN Summit of the Future in New York.
During an event at the Hudson Institute in Washington, US deputy secretary of state Richard Verma was asked whether American diplomats had to “suppress” concerns about the treatment of Muslims by the Hindu majority in India.
He began his response by referring to former US President Barack Obama’s speech in January 2015.
“Frankly, it was a very honest assessment of challenges he had as an African-American in the United States. And he also talked about the divisions in our country and how [they] set us back and lessons that we’ve learned and the fact that we are on this quest to form a more perfect union – very much on the journey today [sic],” he said.
Verma stated that the “conversation” with the Indian side begins with “an acknowledgment that we are not here to lecture, we are not here to point fingers.”
“We are here to try to live up to those commitments that we’ve made about inclusive, equal, democratic systems. And then you have, I think, yes, good friends and partners actually talk about things like this … is this an important topic? 100%. It’s an important topic.”
He further noted that the US “has to continue to raise it, and our Indian friends will continue to raise concerns about how their nationals are treated here.”
Addressing the questioner, he said, “And so I, you’re right to raise it and it is a part of our bilateral dialogue as much as any other issue.”
Verma’s remarks came just hours after the Indian government rebuked Iran for the Iranian supreme leader’s statement, which listed India alongside Gaza and Myanmar as places where Muslims were suffering.
The Ministry of External Affairs’ spokesperson described the comments as “unacceptable” and added that Iran should also reflect on its own treatment of minorities.