S Jaishankar says, India also has concerns about human rights in the US too.

External affairs minister S. Jaishankar said a few days back India also has concerns about human rights in the US, referring to attacks on Indians in America and Indian-origin Americans.

He was mentioning indirectly to the US secretary of state Antony Blinken’s attack on Indians in America and Indian-origin Americans some days ago.

According to news agency PTI, Jaishankar said, “Look, people are entitled to have views about us. But we are also equally entitled to have views about their views and interests, and the lobbies and vote banks that drive that. So, whenever there is a discussion, I can tell you that we will not be reticent about speaking out.”

“I would tell you that we also take our views on other people’s human rights situation, including that of the United States. So, we take up human rights issues when they arise in this country, especially when they pertain to our community,” he said. Speaking to the press, Jaishankar said that human rights were not a topic of discussion during the India US 2+2 ministerial meeting this week. “On the human rights issue; no, we did not discuss human rights during this meeting. This meeting was primarily focused on political-military affairs,” Jaishankar told reporters as he concluded his trip here, which was primarily to attend the India-US 2+2 ministerial dialogue. It is a subject which has come up in the past. It came up when secretary Blinken came to India. I think if you recall the press briefings after that I was very open about the fact that we had discussed it and said what I had to say,” he said.

“So let me put it to you this way so that there’s clarity about where we stand on this matter,” he added.