India not xenophobic, but one of the most welcoming nations: S Jaishankar
NEW DELHI: External affairs Minister S Jaishankar rejected US President Joe Biden’s description of India as “xenophobic” and grouping it with countries said to be economically troubled.
“First of all, our economy is not faltering,” he said at the ET Roundtable on Friday. “India is always… India has been a very unique country… I would say actually, in the history of the world, that it's been a society which has been very open… different people from different societies come to India."
Jaishankar also cited the Narendra Modi government’s legislation that facilitates such a welcome. “That's why we have the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act), which is to open up doors for people who are in trouble… I think we should be open to people who have the need to come to India, who have a claim to come to India.”
The minister then went on to rebuke those who were critical of the CAA. “There are people who publicly said on record that because of CAA, a million Muslims will lose their citizenship in this country,” he said. “Why are they not being held to account? Because nobody has lost citizenship.”
He said a segment of the western media, which is “very ideological”, wants to shape the global narrative and is therefore targeting India.
“It is a segment which has always believed that they should control the global narrative,” he said.
'Political Hit Job'
“They have made in many cases no secret of their political passion,” Jaishankar said. “They have indicated open preference for other political parties in India. They have waded
