White House condemns online harassment faced by Sabrina Siddiqui, WSJ reporter who questioned PM Modi on minority rights in India

The White House on Tuesday condemned the online harassment faced by Sabrina Siddiqui. Siddiqui is a correspondent with The Wall Street Journal who questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the status of minority rights in India during a press conference at the White House last week.  

John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House, said in response to an inquiry by the Wall Street Journal that such harassment is unacceptable under any circumstances. Kirby added such kind of harassment that Siddiqui was being subjected to was "antithetical to the very principles of democracy".   

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) claimed in its query to the White House that Siddiqui was subjected to intense online trolling by politicians who allegedly have associations with the BJP government. The American newspaper also mentioned that Siddiqui was being targeted because of her faith.  

The WSJ asked: "At the question-and-answer event with the president and Prime Minister Modi, our colleague, Sabrina Siddiqui of The Wall Street Journal, asked a question of the prime minister and since the time she has been subjected to some intense online harassment from people inside India. Some of them are politicians, they have associations with the Modi government.”  

The WSJ added: “And in part, they've been targeting her because of her Muslim faith and questioning her own heritage. Because this was supposed to be about democracy in some form, wanted to find out: What is the White House's reaction to the fact that a journalist posing a question to a democratic leader is getting that kind of a pushback?" 

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also said that "we're committed to the freedom of press" and "condemn any efforts of intimidation or harassment of a journalist".  

Siddiqui recently wrote on Twitter: “Since some have chosen to make a point of my personal background, it feels only right to provide a fuller picture. Sometimes identities are more complex than they seem”.  

In the White House presser, Siddiqui had asked PM Modi about the rights of religious minorities and freedom of speech in India. Siddiqui also mentioned there were many human rights groups which claimed the Indian government had discriminated against religious minorities and also attempted to silence critics.  

"What steps are you and your government willing to take to improve the rights of Muslims and other minorities in your country and uphold free speech," she had asked.

PM Modi had replied: "We are a democracy... India and America both have democracy in our DNA. Democracy is in our spirit and we live it and it's written in our Constitution. There is absolutely no space for discrimination on the grounds of caste, creed or religion".  

He added India believes in moving ahead and taking everyone together. PM Modi said that the benefits of the government are available for everyone without any discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, age or geographic location.

Also Read: 'Targeted misinformation': Gautam Adani says Hindenburg earned profit from drive-down of Adani Group stock prices

Also Watch: Order of the Nile award conferred on PM Modi in Egypt: Here's a list of all state awards conferred on the PM

Also Read: ‘At about 6%...’: S&P says India will be among the fastest growing economy in Asia-Pacific 

Also Watch: Stocks to watch on June 27, 2023: Adani Power, HUL, ZEEL, Bharti Airtel, L&T, others