The government said on Thursday that a social media post referring to Indians in derogatory terms regarding immigration was “uninformed, inappropriate and in poor taste”.
“We have seen the comments, as well as the subsequent statement issued by the US Embassy in response. These remarks are clearly ill-informed, inappropriate and tasteless. They certainly do not reflect the reality of India-US relations, which have long been based on mutual respect and common interests,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
He was responding to a question about a social media post that referred to Indians, among other things.
Earlier, during a weekly media briefing, Jaiswal responded to a question about US President Donald Trump’s endorsement of a message critical of India and China on immigration.
“We’ve seen some reports. I’ll leave it at that,” he said.
What was Trump’s contribution?
US President Donald Trump has stepped up criticism of birthright citizenship by sharing a video on Truth Social with right-wing author and radio host Michael Savage.
In the clip, Savage criticizes current immigration laws, saying they allow some individuals to take advantage of the law’s provisions by traveling to the United States late in pregnancy to obtain citizenship for their children.
Savage argued in the video that such practices create a loophole in which “a baby becomes an instant citizen here,” followed by family migration from countries including “China or India or some other hellhole on the planet.”
Read also | Trump stokes citizenship row by reposting Indian comment
The footage, which originally aired on the Newsmax series The Savage Nation, was highlighted by the account “Donald J. Trump Posts From Truth Social,” a platform dedicated to reposting the president’s social media activity.
In the clip, Savage expressed his deep frustration with the trial. “Today’s short, abbreviated discussion will be about the arguments I just heard before the Supreme Court on birthright citizenship. Listening to the arguments made me somewhat angry because all I heard was that it was legal to be bound back and forth.”
Read also | H1B visa revoked for overstaying in India: US businessmen say: ‘Justified’
After the MEA’s one-line response to Trump’s post, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In a post on X, Kharge said PM Modi remained “completely mum” on the disparaging terms and questioned what was stopping India from raising the issue at the highest levels of the US government.
“Modi’s dear friend, ‘Namaste Trump’ shared a remark abusing India and using extremely derogatory language. Modi remains completely mum on these ridiculous statements. MEA spokesperson said, ‘I leave it here’.” Modi, what are you afraid of? Native Americans played a vital role in America’s success. What is stopping us from raising this at the highest levels of the US government?” Kharge asked.
“From the distorted framework of the India-US trade deal to Trump’s earlier claims of brokering a war stop during Operation Sindoor, from smiling in front of Trump when he said ‘BRICS are dead’ to the US imposing 50 percent tariffs on India – at every turn, Modi has stalled India’s interests. In the midst of a high-voltage election campaign, he is getting some thunderous hope from the prime minister that he will respond to the outrage of 140 million since then Indians,” he said.
The comments are clearly uninformed, inappropriate and in poor taste. They certainly do not reflect the reality of Indo-US relations.
Some other Congress representatives also commented on the government’s response.
Modi, what are you afraid of? Native Americans played a vital role in America’s success.
Key things
- The Indian government strongly condemned Trump’s derogatory remarks and emphasized the importance of mutual respect in international relations.
- The political opposition in India is using the situation to question Prime Minister Modi’s diplomatic strategies towards the US.
- The incident reflects the complexity of India-US relations amid growing anti-immigrant sentiment in US politics.
