On April 13th, 2022, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that the human rights issue was not a topic of discussion at the India US 2 2 Ministerial meeting this week, as he stated that whenever there is a discussion, New Delhi will not be reticent about speaking out.
This meeting was primarily focused on political-military affairs, Jaishankar told reporters as he ended his trip here, which was primarily to attend the India-US 2 2 ministerial along with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a joint news conference on Monday that the US is monitoring a number of developments in India, including a rise in human rights abuses by some government, police and prison officials. The joint news conference after the 2 2 dialogue was addressed by Blinken, Jaishankar, Singh and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.
Jaishankar responded to a question and said that the issue of human rights was not discussed during the current meeting, but it has come up in the past.
It is a subject that has come up in the past. It came to an end when Secretary Blinken came to India. If you remember the press briefings after that, I was very open about the fact that we had discussed it and said what I had to say, he said.
He said that let's put it to you this way so that there's clarity about where we stand on this matter.
People have the right to have views about us. We are also entitled to have views about their views and interests, and the lobbies and the vote banks that drive that. He said whenever there is a discussion, I can tell you that we will not be reticent about speaking out.
We also take our views on other people's human rights situation, including that of the United States. We take up a lot of human rights issues when they arise in this country, especially when they relate to our community. He said that we had a case yesterday and that's where we stand on that.