India chips in with criticism of Biden as diplomatic spat over xenophobia claim widens

New Delhi, India - India is not xenophobic, the country's foreign minister has insisted, after comments by US President Joe Biden suggesting the South Asian nation and fellow ally Japan were struggling economically because they rejected immigrants.

US President Joe Biden's (l.) suggestion that India is xenophobic was rejected by the country's foreign mister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (r.).
US President Joe Biden's (l.) suggestion that India is xenophobic was rejected by the country's foreign mister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (r.).  © IMAGO / UPI Photo

Biden made the remarks at a campaign fundraising event in Washington this week.

Foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told a media roundtable Friday that Biden's comments did not match India's reality.

"First of all, our economy is not faltering," he said, according to a report of the discussion published Saturday by the Economic Times newspaper.

California governor Gavin Newsom moves to preemptively block "unlawful" Trump policies
Donald Trump California governor Gavin Newsom moves to preemptively block "unlawful" Trump policies

"India has been a very unique country," he added. "I would say actually, in the history of the world, that it's been a society which has been very open... different people of different societies come to India."

India is one of the world's fastest-growing economies, with an annualized GDP growth of 8.4% in the December quarter, according to official data in February.

Biden riles up allies with unexpected comments

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been accused of discriminating against Muslims by introducing a deeply controversial citizenship law.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been accused of discriminating against Muslims by introducing a deeply controversial citizenship law.  © Anna Moneymaker / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu-nationalist government has been accused of discriminating against Muslims, including through recently enacted reforms to India's citizenship law.

The amended law sparked huge protests when it was first passed by parliament in 2019 and finally enacted in March, with Amnesty International warning that it still risked being used as a tool, alongside a mooted National Register of Citizens, to deprive some Muslims of citizenship.

"There are people who publicly said on record that... a million Muslims will lose their citizenship in this country," Jaishankar said. "Why are they not being held to account? Because nobody has lost citizenship."

Trump aides lay out plans for day one of presidency – including "mass deportation"
Donald Trump Trump aides lay out plans for day one of presidency – including "mass deportation"

Biden had clubbed allies India and Japan in with rivals China and Russia in remarks intended as a defense of US immigration policy.

"Why is China stalling so badly economically? Why is Japan in trouble? Why is Russia in trouble? And India? Because they're xenophobic. They don't want immigrants," Biden had said at the Wednesday fundraiser.

Tokyo responded Saturday by saying it was "unfortunate that comments not based on an accurate understanding of Japan's policy were made".

Cover photo: Anna Moneymaker / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

More on Joe Biden: