An Israel critic, Kamala Harris supporter, and an India-baiter with an unsolicited view on Kashmir — this is Ilhan Omar, the controversial US lawmaker whose presence in a meeting with Rahul Gandhi in Washington has now created a political storm in India.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah took on Rahul Gandhi for “standing with forces that conspire to divide the country” even as BJP’s Sudhanshu Trivedi pointed to Omar being at odds with India’s national interests and how Rahul Gandhi’s meeting with her had dented the faith of Indians. Omar was part of a group of 10 US lawmakers who met Gandhi in the US on Tuesday.
But who is Ilhan Omar? She won the Primary election last month from a constituency in Minnesota and is a staunch supporter of Kamala Harris. The first African refugee elected to Congress, Omar, in her earlier term as a Democrat Congresswomen in 2022, had moved an anti-India resolution, saying India was guilty of violating religious freedom. This was shortly after she went to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, a visit that India had condemned.
Omar is also a staunch Israel critic and has been taking on her own government for supplying arms to Israel. “If you really wanted a ceasefire, you’d just stop sending the weapons, it is that simple,” she said, while participating in a sit-in at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago last month in favour of Palestine.
Omar also had made her disgust apparent for Donald Trump. “He looks sad and miserable,” she posted on X, in a reference to Trump after the presidential debate between him and Kamala Harris. Omar last month said Trump had vowed that he will be a dictator on day one if re-elected and he must be defeated. She has also accused Trump of telling “dangerous anti-Muslim lies”.
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