India has been playing between both Russia and America, now it should have a strong friendship only with us', why did the American MP say this?:Indian-American lawmakers have said that lecturing India on human rights is unlikely to work. Congressman Ro Khanna, co-chair of the Congressional India Caucus, spoke on the matter on Thursday during a panel discussion during Desi Decisions, a summit of Indian American impact, along with three other Indian American lawmakers - Shri Thanedar, Pramila Jayapal and Dr. Ami Bera.

Washington: Lecturing India on human rights is unlikely to work, Indian-American lawmakers have said, asserting that they are in favour of engaging with the leadership of an important country to express concerns on the issue.
Congressman Ro Khanna, co-chair of the Congressional India Caucus, spoke on the issue during a panel discussion on Thursday during the Indian American Impact Summit 'Desi Decisions' along with three other Indian American lawmakers - Mr. Thanedar, Pramila Jayapal and Dr. Ami Bera.

The MPs belonging to the Democratic Party reiterated that they will continue to raise the issue of human rights in India with their leadership. India has been a colony for more than 100 years.

So, when we are talking about human rights, and you are talking to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar or anyone else, you have to understand that you are coming from the perspective of just preaching to India. Khanna told members of the Indian-American community,

When they say that what the colonial powers have preached to us for hundreds of years is not beneficial.

Moderating the panel discussion, ABC national correspondent Zohreen Shah asked Khanna about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's relations with the Muslim community. He said, "Having a conversation with India, what are the flaws in our democracy here, what are the flaws in your democracy and how can we collectively advance democracy and human rights, I think is a more constructive approach."

Bera agreed with Khanna's statement and said that he has told the same thing to the Indian Foreign Minister. If India loses its secular nation, then the rest of the world's view towards India may change.

Mr Thanedar, a Democrat, said he is in favour of strong Indo-US relations. We need a strong US-Indian relationship. India has historically played both sides of Russia and the US. But now the time has come for India to commit to a strong friendship with the United States and this is something I want to work on. The United States has to recognise India's economic power and India is the best solution to counter China's aggression. So, I am just working on strong Indo-US relations.