Human rights activists and international lawyers spoke out against three Indian chief ministers at a special hearing in the US. The US International Religious Freedom Commission (IRFC) has made several serious allegations against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. Representatives of organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, as well as some Indian-American human rights activists, attended the hearing and demanded that the three chief ministers be banned from the United States.
The hearing accused Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma of targeting a specific religious minority community through an eviction drive in the state. Also, several of his public speeches have claimed that his comments on demographic change or the Miao community have increased religious polarization and tensions. Meanwhile, the demolition of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s house by bulldozers based on complaints without any legal process has been termed as a violation of human rights. Also, the state’s anti-conversion law is allegedly being used to harass minorities and inter-faith married couples. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has been accused of curtailing the rights of tribals and minorities through the Uniform Civil Code and illegally eviction of old temples or religious sites in what they termed religious discrimination.
These lawyers and human rights activists are demanding that the US government designate the three leaders as persons of special concern under the Global Magnitsky Act and impose restrictions on their US travel and assets. Meanwhile, there were rumors on social media that the US government panel itself recommended the ban, but this claim is completely false. While the panel itself did not make any formal recommendations against the chief ministers, their focus was mainly on issues related to the RSS and the Indian intelligence agency RAW. Demands for sanctions were raised only by outside rights activists and so far the US government has not imposed any sanctions on any Indian Chief Minister.
This news has created a strong reaction in the political circles of India. There is displeasure in New Delhi over the discussion of the names of the elected Chief Ministers of India on US soil. The Government of India has always rejected such actions as partisan and interference in India’s internal affairs.