NEW DELHI, SEP 11 (PTI): The Congress on Friday slammed a US Department of Homeland Security advertisement asking “Mr Singh” to self-deport as an insult to all Indians, and asked why there had been no strong public rebuttal from the Modi government on this.
The opposition party termed the Modi government “weak”, and said it will have to answer the country as to why is it unable to strongly advocate India’s interests.
The Congress’ strong reaction came after an advertisement posted by the Department of Homeland Security asking “Mr Singh” to self-deport sparked off a controversy with advocacy groups terming it racist and anti-American.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) used AI-generated imagery on X to push its campaign against unlicensed commercial drivers, featuring a brown-bearded man with a tagline: “Get off our roads, you don’t know how to drive Mr Singh.”
Reacting to it, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, “Modi ji, who has been showcasing his international clout by calling Donald Trump his ‘friend’ and who even coined the slogan ‘Abki Baar Trump Sarkar’ among Indian-Americans, is now seeing continuous insults against Indians and people of Indian origin under his administration.”
This is not just an insult to one individual or community – it is an insult to the dignity of all Indians, he said.
There should have been a strong rebuttal to such racial stereotypes and this level of governmental rudeness, Ramesh asserted.
After widespread protests in America, the US Department of Homeland Security had to take down this post, he pointed out.
“But even after that, the department continues to defend this campaign and its language through its official posts. The question is: Why has there been no strong public rebuttal from the Modi government on this insult to Indians?” Ramesh said.
The special thing is that this is not the first instance of India’s insult under the “weak” Modi government, the Congress general secretary said.
The whole world saw how Indians were sent back to India in a deeply humiliating manner — shackled in handcuffs and leg shackles — on a US military aircraft, he recalled.
Even then, the Modi government did not raise its voice for the dignity of Indians in front of its “friend”, Ramesh said.
Then America imposed unilateral additional tariffs on India, to which the Modi government could not muster any effective response, he said.
“Why has our diplomatic strength become so feeble during the tenure of the Modi government, which boasts of being the ‘vishwaguru’, that India’s interests and sovereignty are facing one blow after another?” Ramesh said.
“Why is the Modi government silent? Why does the Government of India keep proving itself weak time and again?” he said.
Does “friendship” mean that the Trump administration keeps insulting Indians, India’s economic and strategic interests keep getting undermined, and the Modi government keeps indulging in headline management every time to cover up its own mistakes, Ramesh asked.
Friendship is important in foreign policy, but national interest, the dignity of Indians, and India’s sovereignty are paramount, and there can be no compromise on them, the Congress leader asserted.
The Modi government will have to answer the country as to why is it unable to strongly advocate for India’s interests, Ramesh said.
Congress Legislature Party leader in Punjab Partap Singh Bajwa also slammed the Modi government over the issue.
“There was a time when ‘Singh is King’ captured the stature of India’s Prime Minister. Dr Manmohan Singh commanded enormous respect in Washington. President Barack Obama called him an ‘honest and wise man’, while President George W. Bush worked with him to transform India-US relations,” Bajwa said on X.
Today, the Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security targets “Mr Singh” — a turbaned Sikh with the words: “Get off our roads” and “Self-deport or find out.”
“What a tragic fall from ‘Singh is King’ to ‘Mr Singh, get off our roads’,” Bajwa said.
And this is the same Donald Trump for whom Narendra Modi stood before 50,000 Indian-Americans and echoed ‘Abki Baar, Trump Sarkar’, the Congress leader said.
“We have not forgotten the images of Punjabis being deported from America in chains and shackles on US military aircraft. Yet the Modi government remains silent,” Bajwa said.
A Sikh being humiliated is an insult to every Punjabi and an Indian being treated with indignity is an insult to every Indian, he said.
Where is the much-proclaimed strong foreign policy and where is the ‘friendship’ with Trump, Bajwa asked.
“India’s dignity cannot be sacrificed for political photo-ops,” he added.
A short video clip in a related post by the US Department of Homeland Security on X shows Megatron, the main antagonist character in the Transformers franchise, negotiating the release of aliens — a term used to describe foreign nationals by the US administration.
Megatron is shown seeking the release of truck drivers Harjinder Singh, Rajinder Kumar, Bekzhan Beishekeev, Akhror Bozorov, and Jasveer Singh, who were involved in road accidents and other crimes.
Cong spreading negativity over BRICS, says BJP
The BJP on Friday slammed the Congress and other opposition parties for creating a “negative atmosphere” around the BRICS summit, alleging that they are unable to “digest” India’s progress as the country moves forward.
The ruling party said that while in 2011-12, under the Congress-led UPA government, India appeared to be losing its position within BRICS, today all BRICS’ heads of state are in India, and the country is celebrating the bloc “as never before.” India is hosting the 18th BRICS Summit on September 12-13 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.
A day earlier, the Congress questioned the benefits of hosting the BRICS Summit. In a video message, BJP MP and national spokesperson Sambit Patra said that while the “I” in BRIC was “turning shaky” in 2011-12, India is now one of the strongest partners of BRICS.
“Today, India has found its position in the global arena as never before,” he said.
“Remember, the ‘I’ in BRICS stands for India, and the ‘I’ in India stands for the 140 crore people of India. I am India. I am one of the strongest partners of BRICS, and I am proud of it. Today, I am proud to be a citizen of India and a very strong member of BRICS,” he added.
Patra cited two articles published in leading newspapers in 2011 and 2012 to back his claim.
“Today, the Congress party and some opposition parties are trying to spread negativity and create a negative atmosphere around the BRICS Summit. I think they need to be shown a mirror,” he said.
Citing a 2012 article based on comments by global financial services firm Goldman Sachs, Patra said its headline was “India least attractive BRICS member in valuation terms.”
“Goldman Sachs clearly says that in 2012, if there was one BRIC member that was the least attractive in terms of valuation, it was India,” Patra said.
He said when Jim O’Neill, then chairman of Goldman Sachs, was asked whether Brazil was the strongest BRIC country and India the weakest, he said India was the least attractive in terms of valuation.
“China would be the most attractive; India would be relatively the least… That being said, because the markets are so worried about India, as I mentioned earlier, if we do indeed get some reforms, perhaps India will further rally ahead of the move than the other markets. I have China as number one, probably right now, Brazil as number two, Russia is number three, and India is number four,” Patra quoted O’Neill as saying.
He further said the final line of the article stated that it would not be a surprise if Indonesia replaced India, as Indonesia had moved far ahead.
“What is the essence of this article? It essentially says that in 2012, there were no meaningful reforms in India, the country was falling behind, inflation was high, and the condition of the Indian market was such that, among the BRIC nations, India was at the bottom,” he said.
Patra said the second article, published on September 21, 2011, highlighted high inflation and a weak currency in India.
“The second article is dated September 21, 2011, and its headline is, ‘With high inflation and weak currency, India not like other BRIC countries’,” he said.
“Inflation in India is the worst among the so-called BRIC nations. Current account deficit is a concern, fiscal deficit is a worry, fresh investments are stalled despite creaky infrastructure. Probably for the first time in a decade since Jim O’Neill of Goldman Sachs coined the acronym, BRIC is weakening and the I in it turning shaky,” Patra said, quoting further from the second article.
“And yet, we have some politicians and some opposition leaders who are not able to digest this. Today, some members of the opposition and the Congress party are unable to digest India’s progress because India is moving forward,” Patra added.