Centre very serious about attacks on Indians in US: Rajnath

New Delhi, March 9 Union home minister Rajnath Singh asserted on Thursday that the Centre had taken very serious note of the hate crimes against Indians in the United States.
“I want to assure the House, that the government has taken up incidents against Indians in the US very seriously and the government will give a statement on it next week,” Singh said in Lok Sabha after the resumption of the Budget session of Parliament.
There have been several incidents of racist attacks on Indians in the US, including the February 22 killing of Hyderabad techie Srinivas Kuchibhotla at a bar in Kansas city and the March 2 killing of Indian-origin businessman Harnish Patel outside his home at Lancaster in South Carolina.
The opposition Congress party, however, questioned PM Modi’s silence on the issue.
“Such incidents have increased after the new US President (Donald Trump) has taken charge. The Prime Minister tweets on every other issue. Why doesn’t he talk on this issue? Why is he silent? He should make a statement today,” Mallikarjun Kharge, leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, said.
Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress MPs staged a dharna in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue in the Parliament complex against the killings of Indians in the US.
Carrying placards with slogans such as “All Indians are our brothers and sisters, stop attacking them in the USA”, parliamentarians from both the Houses demanded a strong response from the Centre.
They also held placards, saying: “The world is one. All citizens are our brothers and sisters. We must take care of them.”