The Congress party has slammed the Indian Ambassador to Ireland for his remarks on an editorial in The Irish Times that critiqued Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and policies.

The editorial, published on 11 April and titled “Modi tightens his grip,” discussed the current political atmosphere in India, likening PM Modi’s approach to that of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and highlighting a shift towards “intolerant Hindu-first majoritarianism”.

Congress communications chief, Jairam Ramesh, condemned Ambassador Akhilesh Mishra’s reaction to the editorial, branding it “unprofessional and disgraceful.”

Ramesh highlighted that while defending the Indian government’s stance is within the Ambassador’s remit, actively engaging in attacks against political opponents is not.

“Defending the government of India is one thing and is to be expected. But to attack opposition parties openly in this manner like a party apparatchik is not expected from an Ambassador, even if he be a political appointment,” Ramesh said in a post on X.

The Irish Times editorial accused the Modi administration of eroding India’s democratic foundations and secular principles, initially established by the country’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.

It cited specific instances, such as the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the freezing of Congress party’s bank accounts, alleging a broader crackdown on free speech and opposition.

Responding to the editorial, the Indian Ambassador to Ireland, Akhilesh Mishra, called it “highly biased and prejudiced”, and argued that the BJP’s efforts to combat corruption are why PM Modi remains popular among the Indian populace.

“There is a huge sense of relief at the grass-root level to witness action being taken and recoveries made from the rich and powerful elites who operated with a sense of entitlement of impunity,” Mishra remarked.

Mishra said that PM Modi enjoys “unprecedented popularity and profile not only in India but globally because of his impeccable personal character and integrity and thought-leadership on innovative, inclusive governance and sustainable development”.

“As he does not belong to any elite political family, his personal life inspires millions of ordinary people in India and other developing countries,” Mishra said.

He further elaborated on the socio-economic advancements under Modi government, stating, “Modi has implemented a paradigm change in the ethos of development focused on empowerment and welfare of the poorest, including youth (making India the third largest hub of start-ups and unicorn companies), women (significantly improving gender-ratio and expanding their economic participation, including, inter alia, through 33 per cent reservation in parliament) and the poor (uplifting 250 million out of poverty).”

Mishra said that the Modi government’s anti-corruption drive has been a critical factor in Modi’s growing popularity, crediting its success to the autonomy given to enforcement agencies, which “operate procedures quite similar to the corresponding Irish/British agencies,” and the use of technology in uncovering corruption.

“The fight against the deeply entrenched ecosystem of corruption (created by the 55-year rule, including first 30 years, by a single dynastic party in India) is a major factor behind Mr Modi’s ever-growing popularity,” he said.

“All cases of corruption are pursued strictly as per the established procedure, with availability of usual judicial remedies to the affected parties. India also, like the US, Ireland and other European Union countries, does not have a separate tax code or judicial process for journalists, human rights activists and politically influential individuals, nor there is any provision of special immunity to them during elections,” he said.

Mishra also criticised the editorial’s portrayal of India’s demographic composition, stating, “A stereotypical description of India as an ’80 per cent Hindu majority’ nation is quite misleading because Hinduism is inherently inclusive and fundamentally pluralistic, since centuries preceding the birth of Buddha or Christ”.

“Numerically, Hindus of India outnumber the entire population of European Union and the North America, and obviously do not represent a monolithic vote bank. Hindus of India possess incredible diversity of thought, ways of life and political beliefs, covering the entire spectrum from extreme left to extreme right,” he said.

He further said that the Hindu majority of India regularly vote to power non-”Hindu nationalists”.

“Even now Mr Modi’s BJP rules only in 12 out of 28 states of India. This can happen only in “Hindu majority” India,” he added.

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