Strongly defending the rights of farmers who are protesting against farm bills in Delhi borders, seven Congressmen led by Donald Norcoss, deputy Chairman of Democratic National Caucus has written to the secretary of state Mike Pompeo, urging him to raise the issue of farmers’ protest with his Indian counterpart.
Indian-American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal is also among the seven Congress who have written to Pompeo.“As national legislators we respect the right of the government of India to determine national policy, in compliance with existing law. We also acknowledge the rights of those in India and abroad who are currently protesting peacefully against agricultural laws that many Indian farmers see as an attack on their economic security,” the letter to the Secretary of State read.
“Many Indian Americans are directly affected as they have family members and ancestral land in Punjab and are concerned for the well-being of their families in India. In view of this serious situation, we urge you to contact your Indian counterpart to reinforce the United States’ commitment to the freedom of political speech abroad,” group urged in the letter.
“The Congressmen took a very serious note of this situation after seeing in the international press that protesting farmers from Punjab, who were marching peacefully to Delhi, were brutally subjected to water cannon attacks, barbed wire barricades, and tear gas by Indian security personnel. They have strong defended the rights of the farmers and asked Secretary of State to intervene,” said Himmat Singh, coordinator SCCEC.
