US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar condemns Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s death; Shiv Sena MP asks Jaishankar to start enquiry
US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar , known for her anti-India stance, has faced criticism for interfering in India's internal affairs
Shiv Sena (UBT) Priyanka Chaturvedi has asked the Ministry of External Affairs to immediately initiate an inquiry against US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar who condemned the death of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
In a tweet on the X platform (formerly Twitter), Ilhan Abdullahi Omar, serving as the US representative for Minnesota's 5th congressional district appealed to the federal government to support Canada's probe into Nijjar's death.
"The allegations that Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Niijar was assassinated by the Indian government are deeply concerning. The US must fully support the Canadian investigation," Omar said.
She added, "We are also requesting a briefing on whether there are similar operations in the United States".
Following Omar's remark MP Chaturvedi urged India's foreign ministry to start an enquiry into how an elected representative in the USA is interfering in the peace of Jammu & Kashmir via a Pakistan-funded PoK visit.
Omar reportedly visited to Pakistan-occupied part of the disputed region of Kashmir or PoK in 2022. And, an annual House financial disclosure report revealed that her trip was funded by the Pakistani government.
The disclosure showed that Islamabad had sponsored Omar’s visit from the 18th to the 24th of April, 2022—which included lodging as well as food.
Omar, a prominent Democrat known for her anti-India stance on various issues. She also boycotted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech at the joint session of the US Congress in June this year wherein Omar said, ‘Modi government has repressed religious minorities’.
Omar, a Somali American who belongs to President Joe Biden’s Democratic Party, is the first naturalised citizen of African birth to sit in the US Congress.
Meanwhile, India's External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar repeated his criticism of Canada. He said that India is willing to examine the evidence presented by Canada alleging New Delhi's involvement in the killing of a Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
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"If there's any incident which is an issue and somebody gives me something specific as a government, I would of course look into it," Jaishankar said.
Canada has called for India to cooperate in the investigation but New Delhi has rejected the allegations and taken countermeasures, such as shutting down visa services for Canadians.
"We have actually been badgering the Canadians. We've given them loads of information about organized crime leadership which operates out of Canada," Jaishankar said, referring to Sikh separatists.
"Our concern is that it's really been very permissive because of political reasons," he said.
"We have a situation where actually our diplomats are threatened, our consulates have been attacked and often comments are made (that are) interference in our politics," he said.
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Business NewsNewsIndiaUS Congresswoman Ilhan Omar condemns Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s death; Shiv Sena MP asks Jaishankar to start enquiry
First Published:27 Sep 2023, 12:36 PM IST
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