Welcome, not? US court summons PM Modi for alleged role in 2002 Gujarat riots

As PM Narendra Modi left for his five-day visit to the US and even before he landed in the country, a US court has issued summons against him for his alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat riots. [caption id=“attachment_1730643” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] A US court issued summons against PM Narendra Modi. AFP[/caption] A report in The Hindu said that the lawsuit was filed by a non-profit human rights organisation called American Justice Centre (AJC), which also identified “two survivors of the horrific and organised violence of Gujarat 2002” as the plaintiffs. AJC has asked for a response from Modi based on the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) and the Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA) and has warned that “judgement by default will be entered against you for the relief demanded in the complaint,” if Modi fails to respond. The report adds that the twenty-eight page complaint “charges PM 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 left for the US on 25 September. After addressing the UN General Assembly on 27 September, and some 18,000 Indian-American community at the Madison Square Garden in New York on 28 September, Modi is scheduled to head to Washington for his maiden meeting with US President Barack Obama on 29 and 30 September at the White House. The Prime Minister further said that the thriving Indian-American community in the US is a metaphor for the potential of India-US partnership, and for the possibilities of an environment that nurtures enterprise and rewards hard work. “The US is our natural global partner. India and the US embody the enduring and universal relevance of their shared values,” Modi wrote in an op-ed in the The Wall Street Journal. He also said the complementary strengths of India and the US can be used for inclusive and broad-based global development to transform lives across the world. “This is a moment of flux in the global order. I am confident in the destiny of our two nations, because democracy is the greatest source of renewal and, with the right conditions, offers the best opportunity for the human spirit to flourish,” Modi said. (With inputs from PTI)