'What a tragic fall from Singh is King': Congress slams 'weak Modi govt' over controversial US ad

New Delhi: The Congress on Friday slammed a US Department of Homeland Security advertisement asking "Mr Singh" to self-deport as an insult to all Indians, and asked why there had been no strong public rebuttal from the Modi government on this.

The opposition party termed the Modi government "weak", and said it will have to answer the country as to why is it unable to strongly advocate India's interests.

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The Congress' strong reaction came after an advertisement posted by the Department of Homeland Security asking "Mr Singh" to self-deport sparked off a controversy with advocacy groups terming it racist and anti-American.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) used AI-generated imagery on X to push its campaign against unlicensed commercial drivers, featuring a brown-bearded man with a tagline: "Get off our roads, you don't know how to drive Mr Singh."

Reacting to it, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "Modi ji, who has been showcasing his international clout by calling Donald Trump his 'friend' and who even coined the slogan 'Abki Baar Trump Sarkar' among Indian-Americans, is now seeing continuous insults against Indians and people of Indian origin under his administration."

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"Yet, the Modi government is behaving as if it is a silent partner in this entire episode. An extremely offensive poster targeting 'Mr Singh' was issued from the official handle of the US Department of Homeland Security, in which a turbaned Indian was threatened with lines like 'Get off our roads' and 'Self-deport or find out'," Ramesh said in a post in Hindi on X.

This is not just an insult to one individual or community - it is an insult to the dignity of all Indians, he said.

There should have been a strong rebuttal to such racial stereotypes and this level of governmental rudeness, Ramesh asserted.

After widespread protests in America, the US Department of Homeland Security had to take down this post, he pointed out.

"But even after that, the department continues to defend this campaign and its language through its official posts. The question is: Why has there been no strong public rebuttal from the Modi government on this insult to Indians?" Ramesh said.

The special thing is that this is not the first instance of India's insult under the "weak" Modi government, the Congress general secretary said.

The whole world saw how Indians were sent back to India in a deeply humiliating manner -- shackled in handcuffs and leg shackles -- on a US military aircraft, he recalled.

Even then, the Modi government did not raise its voice for the dignity of Indians in front of its "friend", Ramesh said.

Then America imposed unilateral additional tariffs on India, to which the Modi government could not muster any effective response, he said.

"Why has our diplomatic strength become so feeble during the tenure of the Modi government, which boasts of being the 'vishwaguru', that India's interests and sovereignty are facing one blow after another?" Ramesh said.

"Why is the Modi government silent? Why does the Government of India keep proving itself weak time and again?" he said.

Does "friendship" mean that the Trump administration keeps insulting Indians, India's economic and strategic interests keep getting undermined, and the Modi government keeps indulging in headline management every time to cover up its own mistakes, Ramesh asked.

Friendship is important in foreign policy, but national interest, the dignity of Indians, and India's sovereignty are paramount, and there can be no compromise on them, the Congress leader asserted.

The Modi government will have to answer the country as to why is it unable to strongly advocate for India's interests, Ramesh said.

Congress Legislature Party leader in Punjab Partap Singh Bajwa also slammed the Modi government over the issue.

"There was a time when 'Singh is King' captured the stature of India's Prime Minister. Dr Manmohan Singh commanded enormous respect in Washington. President Barack Obama called him an 'honest and wise man', while President George W. Bush worked with him to transform India-US relations," Bajwa said on X.

Today, the Trump administration's Department of Homeland Security targets "Mr Singh" -- a turbaned Sikh with the words: "Get off our roads" and "Self-deport or find out."

"What a tragic fall from 'Singh is King' to 'Mr Singh, get off our roads'," Bajwa said.

And this is the same Donald Trump for whom Narendra Modi stood before 50,000 Indian-Americans and echoed 'Abki Baar, Trump Sarkar', the Congress leader said.

"We have not forgotten the images of Punjabis being deported from America in chains and shackles on US military aircraft. Yet the Modi government remains silent," Bajwa said.

A Sikh being humiliated is an insult to every Punjabi and an Indian being treated with indignity is an insult to every Indian, he said.

Where is the much-proclaimed strong foreign policy and where is the 'friendship' with Trump, Bajwa asked.

"India's dignity cannot be sacrificed for political photo-ops," he added.

A short video clip in a related post by the US Department of Homeland Security on X shows Megatron, the main antagonist character in the Transformers franchise, negotiating the release of aliens -- a term used to describe foreign nationals by the US administration.

Megatron is shown seeking the release of truck drivers Harjinder Singh, Rajinder Kumar, Bekzhan Beishekeev, Akhror Bozorov, and Jasveer Singh, who were involved in road accidents and other crimes.