"I appeal to fellow Indians. Next time you meet an African citizen, pl shake hand and say 'India loves you'," the minister tweeted.
Under pressure over what is being seen as a rise in the attacks against African nationals in the country, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has appealed to Indians to stretch out a hand of friendship to them, quite literally.
In a tweet Thursday morning, Swaraj urged Indians to shake hands with African nationals and tell them we love them.
“I appeal to fellow Indians. Next time you meet an African citizen, pl shake hand and say ‘India loves you’,” the minister said.
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Also read: Africans, Delhiites break the ice as police play host
On Tuesday, Swaraj met with the family of Congolese national Masonda Kitanda Olivier saying as a mother, she understood the “pain of a mother who loses a son on foreign soil”.
Swaraj, however, refused to characterise the death of Congolese national Masonda Kitanda Olivier as a racist attack, and invoked Buddha and Mahatma Gandhi to convey that India can “never have a racist mindset”. Read more about that, here.
Substantiating her argument that it was not a racial attack, Swaraj said: “All criminal acts should not be construed as racial attacks. As the CCTV footage of the incident in question showed, this was an act committed by goons who also thrashed the Indian bystanders who had attempted to intervene to save Mr Olivier. Delhi Police immediately swung into action after the unfortunate incident. Two of the perpetrators of the crime have already been apprehended, while a search is on for the third person.”
Source page - http://indianexpress.com/
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