A WhatsApp forward claiming that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken publicly criticised External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar over the attacks on Christians in India, is fake.
BOOM did not find any public statements by Blinken where he targeted Jaishankar and called him out or the BJP-ruled government directly.
The message claims that Blinken questioned Jaishankar that while Hindus in the US were one percent of the population there were no attacks on Hindu temples whereas in India there were anti-conversion laws specifically targetting Indian Christians in ten states.
It also claims that Blinken made a statement claiming that Jaishankar studied at St. Stephen's College, New Delhi and questioned him if he faced any pressure to convert to Christianity.
Click here to view
This same forward was viral back in April 2022 with the false claim.
Also Read:Visuals Of Ukraine President Zelensky's Bodyguard Peddled As 'Body Double'
FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the viral forward is fake and no such statement was made by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken singling out EAM S Jaishankar and publicly criticising the latter over attacks on Christians in India.
We searched on Google with the keywords mentioned in the viral forward and did not find any credible reports which cited any of the conversations mentioned in the forward or any such exchange between Jaishankar and Blinken.
On two occasions back in April 2022 and June 2022, Blinken had mentioned the rising attacks on people and places of worship in India, however in none of these public statements did he single out Jaishankar the forward claims.
"We also share a commitment to our democratic values, such as protecting human rights. We regularly engage with our Indian partners on these shared values, and to that end we’re monitoring some recent concerning developments in India, including a rise in human rights abuses by some government, police, and prison officials," Blinken said on April 12, 2022, in a joint press briefing with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Indian external affairs minister S. Jaishankar and India’s defence minister Rajnath Singh.
This statement can be viewed below on the US Department of State website.
Click here to view
On June 2, 2022, Blinken again highlighted “rising attacks” in India at the release of the US state department’s annual report on international religious freedom. Blinken had mentioned India along with other countries in the report saying, "For example, in India, the world’s largest democracy and home to a great diversity of faiths, we’ve seen rising attacks on people and places of worship; in Vietnam, where authorities harass members of unregistered religious communities; in Nigeria, where several state governments are using antidefamation and blasphemy laws to punish people for expressing their beliefs."
This statement can be viewed below on the US Department of State website.
Click here to view
In both these addresses by Blinken, there is no statement by him either singling out Jaishankar or directly blaming the BJP government as being claimed.
