A half-dozen liberal House Democrats are boycotting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech to Congress on Thursday afternoon, in protest of what they criticize as his abysmal human rights document, notably towards Muslim minority teams in India.

Four of the protesting members launched a press release Thursday condemning the deal with as “an embarrassing spectacle,” arguing that by giving Mr. Modi such a uncommon platform, “Congress undermines its ability to be a credible advocate for the rights of religious minorities and journalists around the world.”

“We must never sacrifice human rights at the altar of political expediency,” Representatives Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Cori Bush of Missouri, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, and Jamaal Bowman of New York wrote within the joint assertion. They referred to as on different members of Congress to hitch their protest and “stand in solidarity with the communities that have been harmed by Modi and his policies.”

But whereas different lawmakers have acknowledged and even criticized Mr. Modi for selling antidemocratic and Hindu nationalist insurance policies, and criticized him for failing to condemn violent assaults towards minority teams, they’ve recoiled on the thought of boycotting a go to from such an economically and strategically essential U.S. ally.

“We need to engage,” mentioned Representative Ro Khanna, Democrat of California, a member of Indian descent who co-chairs the Congressional Caucus on India, arguing that India’s authorities leaders are “not going to be open and receptive to something that comes off as the West lecturing.”

“I think they’d be much more open to a dialogue as equals about the project of multiracial democracy,” he mentioned.

The Biden administration has been pursuing nearer ties with India, notably because the United States’ standoffs with Russia and China intensify. India’s giant financial system and inhabitants make it an attractive accomplice for the United States, notably as Washington tries to scale back its financial reliance on Beijing, and there’s a concerted effort to woo New Delhi away from Russia, from which it continues to buy weapons and oil, in an effort to assist undermine Moscow’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

But the protesting lawmakers objected viscerally to the geopolitical justifications for Mr. Modi’s deal with. Pointing out that Mr. Modi as soon as did not get a U.S. visa due to his participation in lethal non secular riots, they argued he shouldn’t be rewarded years later with a diplomatic purple carpet.

“A joint address is among the most prestigious invitations and honors the United States Congress can extend,” Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Democrat of New York, who can be boycotting Mr. Modi’s speech, wrote in a press release that she tweeted out Wednesday night. “We should not do so for individuals with deeply troubling human rights records — particularly for individuals whom our own State Department has concluded engaged in systematic human rights abuses of religious minorities and caste-oppressed communities.”