White house condemns harassment of journalist who questioned Modi on human rights

Guwahati, June 27: A journalist from the Wall Street Journal who questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi about India’s record on human rights during a White House press conference last week has been the focus of an online harassment campaign, according to officials from Biden administration who denounced it on Monday.

The officials termed the incident as “unacceptable” and “antithetical” to the very principles of democracy.

"It’s completely unacceptable and it's antithetical to the very principles of democracy that ... were on display last week during the state visit," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby was quoted as saying of the online trolling that's been aimed at White House reporter Sabrina Siddiqui.

Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary while condemning the incident added that "we're committed to the freedom of the press".

As per reports, Siddiqui, questioned Prime Minister Modi last week on the rights of minorities in India and the measures his administration was prepared to take to protect free speech and advance those rights.

A day after the joint press conference, the reporter received online criticism for questioning the prime minister, accusing her of asking the prime minister "motivated" questions.

Modi vehemently defended India's record on democracy, his government's performance, and human rights in response to Siddiqui's question. “Indeed, India is a democracy. And as President Biden also mentioned, India and America both countries, democracy is in our DNA. The democracy is our spirit. Democracy runs in our veins. We live democracy,” Modi was quoted in reports.

Meanwhile, the South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA) expressed support for Siddiqui in the wake of the online abuse against her.