'Fostered violence against Muslims... presence at Bastille Day ignores Modi’s dismal rights record'

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru/Paris: French President Emmanuel Macron (in pic) is facing criticism in France for his decision to extend an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the guest of honor for the Bastille Day military parade on July 14, which symbolizes the celebration of freedom and the people's democratic spirit.

The basis for the criticism lies in India's "perceived shift towards authoritarianism" since 2014. The day PM Modi landed in Paris, an opinion piece in the leading French daily Le Monde, said, “The presence of the Indian Prime Minister as the guest of honour at the Bastille Day parade disregards Narendra Modi’s dismal human rights record."

The column, titled “Narendra Modi has fostered State-sponsored violence for decades”, added: “Narendra Modi, India’s hardline Prime Minister, will be French President Emmanuel Macron’s guest of honour at the Bastille Day parade."

Although the Biden administration faced pressure to address human rights concerns during PM Modi's recent state visit to the US, the criticism directed at the invitation extended to him by the French government has been even more intense.

It further added, "In any event , Macron and his diplomatic corps have made their decision. The complicity between the two leaders is obvious. According to the French foreign ministry, France and India are "linked by common values" and a "shared attachment to democracy."

Commonplace language, detached from reality." The article also raised atrocities against "Muslims and minorities" in India.

It said, "Modi, today's internationally celebrated leader, is nonetheless a figure who has fostered state-sponsored violence for decades. The former chief minister of the state of Gujarat was directly involved in a massacre in that state in 2002, which caused around 2,000 deaths. Since then, the career of the man nicknamed the "Butcher of Gujarat" has been punctuated by violent nationalist upsurges, purges and abuses.

Continuing with its analysis, the piece said, "Violent, armed mobs regularly attack Muslims and openly call for the rape of Muslim women. Indian women, of all castes and creeds, are subjected to rape and violence, without any government ever having taken any real initiative to combat the phenomenon."

According to The Associated Press, Macron's gesture of welcoming Modi with grandeur was characterised as “staging a seduction campaign."