White House condemns harassment of WSJ reporter for questioning PM Modi about human rights

The White House has condemned the harassment of the WSJ reporter who questioned Prime Minister Modi on human rights at a press conference last week.

At the White House event on Thursday, Sabrina Siddiqui was the White House correspondent Sabrina Siddiqui to pose a query to Narendra Modi, reports Wall Street Journal.

She cited worries expressed by human rights organisations that criticised Modi's Hindu nationalist government for cracking down on dissent and press freedom as well as discriminating against religious minorities, particularly Muslims.

Siddiqui questioned Modi on the measures he was taking to defend free speech and minorities.

In response, Modi, who has met the media seldom in his nine years as prime minister, asserted that "democracy is our spirit" and praised the accomplishments of his cabinet.

Siddiqui has been the target of online assaults from members of Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party since the press conference, including a party spokesman who referred to her as a "bigot" on Twitter.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Monday, "We're aware of the reports of that harassment. It's unacceptable and we absolutely condemn any harassment of journalists anywhere under any circumstances. That's just completely unacceptable and it's antithetical to the very principles of democracy that were on display last week during the state visit."

Karine Jean-Pierre, a spokesperson for the White House, reaffirmed these points and added, "We're committed to the freedom of the press, which is, which is why we had the press conference last week."

Karthik Iyer, a spokesman for the Indian Embassy, referred inquiries to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, which was unavailable for comment.

"The Wall Street Journal's Sabrina Siddiqui is a respected journalist known for her integrity and unbiased reporting," the Journal said in a statement Monday. "This harassment of our reporter is unacceptable, and we strongly condemn it."