Bipartisan members of Congress, including Democratic congressman Ro Khanna (D-CA), urged Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to invite Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address a joint session of Congress during his state visit this week. But not all Democrats were so welcoming of Modi, and many of them showed hypocrisy in how they voiced their objections.
A group of over 70 Democratic members of Congress from both chambers have authored a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to discuss "troubling signs in India toward the shrinking of political space, the rise of religious intolerance, the targeting of civil society organizations and journalists, and growing restrictions on press freedoms and internet access." In response, national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that Biden will "not be lecturing Modi" on subjects relating to the aforementioned concerns.
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One thing that stands out amid this Democratic divide is the way many of Modi's Democratic critics hold India to a higher standard than they hold themselves. Many Democrats and their activist Left base have been guilty of the same sorts of bad practices they accuse Modi of committing.
For one, they are in no position to raise concerns over "shrinking political space" when they foment woke culture in every aspect of our daily lives and ostracize or officially sanction those who resist it. The Left does so on social media through cancel culture, in our schools through their efforts to push the gender ideology on kindergarteners, in businesses through "rainbow capitalism," in medicine by forcing life-altering sex reassignment surgeries on minors, in sports as seen in Pride Nights with anti-Catholic drag queens, and even our military. The left-wing agenda dominates America today while conservative views are shunned and discouraged through cancel culture.
When it comes to the "rise of religious intolerance," these Democrats are hardly spotless. It’s as if they’ve forgotten that they commonly adopt rhetoric such as "white Christian nationalism" and "religious indoctrination" as weapons against religious freedoms in America. This tactic is regularly used to demean religious groups exercising First Amendment rights.
But that’s not all. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) erected a Palestinian flag outside her office on Capitol Hill earlier this year while calling Israel an "apartheid" state, and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) was stripped of her position in the House Committee on Foreign Affairs for making bigoted remarks about Jewish people. Interestingly, these antisemitic Democratic congresswomen are boycotting Modi’s joint address to Congress, citing concerns over the ”treatment of Muslims in India.”
As for their concerns about “press freedoms,” a similar case can be made against what has become Democratic orthodoxy in targeting journalists and placing restrictions on the freedom of press and internet access. This was showcased in the Twitter Files scandal, in which Democrat-friendly government officials joined Big Tech companies in subjecting certain journalists and conservative politicians to "shadow-banning," content restrictions, and account deletions.
It is clear from these examples that most Democrats are in no place to question the decisions taken by McCarthy or President Joe Biden in inviting Prime Minister Modi to Congress and the White House, respectively. This comes at a time when the United States needs to discuss key issues of mutual interest with a strategic ally that shares China as its common enemy, especially only a few days after Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s embarrassing trip to China. U.S.-India relations are especially important when it comes to foreign investments, bilateral defense trade, nuclear proliferation, combating terrorist threats, and curbing China's growing influence.
It seems as if House and Senate Democrats refuse to see the bigger picture here. Rather, they are resorting to petty moves by creating a disturbing buzz around Modi’s state visit. This is problematic. It could keep the United States from benefiting from these important bilateral talks.
And, as previously noted, they have few grounds to complain, considering their own behavior on similar issues here at home. If only they were so passionate about the rights of Americans that they work so hard to take away.
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Max Mallhi is a summer 2023 Washington Examiner fellow.