Journalist who questioned Modi on minorities' rights faces online harassment

The White House has condemned as totally unacceptable the harassment of a US journalist on social media for asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi a question at his joint press conference here with President Joe Biden news agency PTI reportedAccording to PTI last week the Wall Street Journal reporter Sabrina Siddiqui asked Prime Minister Modi about the rights of minorities in India and what steps his government was willing to take to improve them and also uphold free speechA day after the joint press conference the reporter faced online abuse for questioning the prime minister with some alleging that her question was motivated and calling her a Pakistani IslamistWere aware of the reports of that harassment Its unacceptable And we absolutely condemn any harassment of journalists anywhere under any circumstances Thats completely unacceptable And its antithetical to the very principles of democracy that were on display last week during the state visit National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby told reporters on Monday in response to a questionIn response to Siddiquis question Prime Minister Modi had strongly defended Indias record on democracy and his governments performance and human rights saying that the basic foundation stone of his government has been Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas which means together for everyones growth with everyones trustIndia is a democracy And as President Biden said democracy is in the DNA of both India and America Democracy is in our spirit Democracy flows in our veins We live democracy Our forefathers moulded it in words which we call the Constitution he saidOur government runs on the fundamental principles of this Constitution We have proved that democracy can deliver When I say deliver it means there is no place for discrimination on the grounds of caste creed gender religion Modi saidWhite House Press Secretary Karine JeanPierre said Were certainly here at the White House under this administration committed to the freedom of the press which is why we had the press conference last weekWe certainly condemn any efforts of intimidation or harassment of a journalist or any journalist that is just trying to do their job And so I just want to be very clear about that she saidIn response to a question on whether Prime Minister Modi and President Biden had discussions on issues such as press freedom and human rights JeanPierre said President Biden will never shy away from having those conversations with a world leader or a head of state when it comes to human rights He has done that throughout the past two years and through his career as a vice president and certainly as a senator Im not going to get into private conversations but I think we have made ourselves very clear here on our view And Ill just leave it there she saidJeanPierre said the US was committed to the freedom of the press which is why the joint press conference was held We thought it was important for you all to hear from both not just from the President but also from the Prime Minister and for journalists to be able to ask a question she saidMeanwhile the South Asian Journalists Association SAJA expressed support for Siddiqui in the wake of the online abuse against her We want to express our continued support of our colleague SabrinaSiddiqui who like many South Asian and female journalists is experiencing harassment for simply doing her job Press freedom is the hallmark of any democracy and PM Modi leads the worlds largest democracy SAJA said in a tweetA day after the joint press conference Siddiqui took to Twitter and wrote 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 seemAccompanying her tweet were two photographs in which she is wearing a blue jersey of the Indian cricket team and an April 2011 picture with her father when India won the 2011 cricket World CupWith PTI inputs