Another US lawmaker to boycott Indian prime minister's address to Congress

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Wednesday that she is aligning with fellow progressive lawmakers in a decision to boycott Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's joint address to the US Congress.

She joined her Muslim colleagues Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, who said a day earlier that they would boycott Modi's address.

In a statement on Twitter, the New York representative recalled Modi's 2005 ban from entering the US “because of his violations of religious freedom.”

"A joint address is among the most prestigious invitations and honors the United States Congress can extend. We should not do so for individuals with deeply troubling human rights records – particularly for individuals whom our own State Department has concluded are engaged in systematic human rights abuses of religious minorities and caste-oppressed communities," said Ocasio-Cortez.

President Joe Biden will meet with Modi at the Oval Office on Thursday. Modi will also address Congress.