Indian officials lashed out at former President Barack Obama after he called for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to protect the rights of Muslims.
Obama said on CNN the “protection of the Muslim minority in a majority-Hindu India” was “something worth mentioning” while President Joe Biden hosted Modi at the White House last week.
Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman responded by criticizing Obama’s “bombings” of Muslims during his presidency. (RELATED: Obama Says Trump Indictment Shows ‘Nobody Is Above The Law’)
“Six countries with Muslim-dominant populations faced bombings because of him. Have the bombings not occurred from Syria to Saudi to Yemen to Iraq?” Sitharaman said Monday, according to NBC News.
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh added that Obama “should think about himself, how many Muslim countries have been attacked by him,” the outlet reported.
India’s treatment of Muslims was a central theme surrounding Modi’s visit to the White House. Protesters standing on Pennsylvania Avenue held signs saying “India’s democracy is in danger,” criticizing Biden for hosting the Indian leader.
During the Biden-Modi presser, a reporter pressed the prime minister on India’s record of discriminating against Muslims. Modi responded, “there’s absolutely no discrimination neither on basis of caste, creed, or age, or any kind of geographic location” in India.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said that question “is for the Prime Minister” — not Biden — “to answer.”