On 1st state visit, U.S. court summons Indian PM Modi on human rights lawsuit

A New York court has ordered Narendra Modi to answer allegations of “attempted genocide” over deadly anti-Muslim riots, a rights organisation said Friday, as he began his first U.S. visit as India’s prime minister. The complaint relates to anti-Muslim violence that left at least 1,000 people dead in 2002, in the western Indian state of Gujarat, where Modi served as chief minister before he was elected prime minister in May. Modi denies any wrongdoing and the Indian courts have cleared him of all charges, but he remains tainted by the episode. Lawyers for rights group, the American Justice Center (AJC), filed a civil case on Thursday that seeks damages from Modi for what they call “attempted genocide”.

It is clear that justice for the plaintiffs cannot be obtained in India because of the condoning of this genocidal act of state-sanctioned terrorism.

Petition issued by AJC and unnamed survivors of the Gujarat riots

The AJC said the court had issued a summons ordering him to respond to the charges within 21 days. Under U.S. law, a court can decide on action if a defendant does not reply to a summons within that time. The 28-page complaint charges Modi with committing crimes against humanity, extra-judicial killings, torture, and inflicting mental and physical trauma on the victims, mostly from the Muslim community. Modi, a Hindu nationalist, was blocked from obtaining a U.S. visa in 2005 over the allegations, which he has always denied. He is due to arrive in New York Friday to address the UN General Assembly before heading to Washington for talks with U.S. President Barack Obama. U.S. and Indian government representatives played down the importance of the lawsuit on Friday, saying it would not distract from the visit, and that the prime minister was not subject to the authority of the court.

Politics modi