New Delhi: India on Wednesday strongly trashed Pakistan’s criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi hoisting a saffron flag at the Ram temple in Ayodhya and said the neighbouring country, with a “deeply strained” record of “bigotry” and “repression” of minorities, has no moral standing to lecture others.
“We have seen the reported remarks and reject them with the contempt they deserve. As a country with a deeply stained record of bigotry, repression, and systemic mistreatment of its minorities,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing.
“Pakistan has no moral standing to lecture others. Rather than delivering hypocritical homilies, Pakistan would do better to turn its gaze inwards and focus on its own abysmal human rights record,” he said.
Modi hoisted the ‘Dharma Dhwaj’ atop the Ram temple on Tuesday marking completion of its construction.
The prime minister, who performed the flag hoisting in the presence of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, also used the occasion to outline the roadmap for a developed India by 2047 and said the country must break free from the British-era legacy of “slave mentality”.
In a statement, the Pakistan foreign office referred to construction of the temple at the site of the Babri mosque, alleging that it is a reflection of pressure on religious minorities in India.
Pakistan has noted with “deep concern” the flag hoisting at the ‘Ram Temple’, constructed on the site of the historic Babri mosque in Ayodhya, it said.
The Pakistan foreign office also called upon the United Nations and relevant international bodies to play a “constructive role in safeguarding Islamic heritage and ensuring protection of the religious and cultural rights of all minorities”.
To a question on Pakistan’s remarks on statement on Kashmir by a UN rapporteur, Jaiswal said Pakistan should look within and see the level of human rights violations taking place in that country.
PTI