New Delhi: A parliamentary panel on Tuesday raised the recent adversarial decisions taken by the US aimed at India during a meeting with a visiting delegation of American lawmakers. The “silence” of the Indian-American diaspora on these developments also came up in the discussion.

All five members of the US Congress delegation are Democrats, broadly critical of US President Donald Trump’s policies.

Tharoor on diaspora’s silence

The chairman of the Standing Committee on External Affairs, Shashi Tharoor, said after the meeting that one of the points raised by panel members, drawn from both ruling and opposition parties, was why the Indian-American diaspora had been “so silent about all this”.

Tharoor said, “I do want to stress that one of the points we raised is why the Indian-American diaspora has been so silent about all this. One of the Congressmen said not one phone call has come to her office from any Indian-American voter asking her to support a change of policy. This is something that is surprising.”

He added, “We all need to reach out to the Indian-American population, saying if you care about your relationship with the motherland, then you also have to fight for and speak for it, and make more of an effort to press your political representative to stand up for India.”

Some members of the US delegation, led by Indian-origin Congressman Ami Bera, shared this view.

Praise for India and concerns on visa hike

According to Tharoor, the visiting US lawmakers are “friends of India and well disposed to the country”. Some MPs noted that the delegation praised the strength and resilience of the Indian economy, along with the contribution of its diaspora.

This came amid concerns over the Trump administration’s decision to hike the H-1B visa fee to a steep USD 1,00,000.

Other issues discussed

The meeting also raised the matter of the US sanctions waiver for Iran’s Chabahar Port, being developed by India, and the 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods. Some US lawmakers criticised Trump for these decisions.

US Congress support for India

Tharoor said the most important message from the visiting lawmakers was that “a lot of US opinion, including in the US Congress, is strongly committed to the Indian relationship and the strategic partnership between the two countries”.

“India is valued, and they remain determined to strengthen the relationship despite the recent setbacks that we are familiar with,” he added.

The interaction with the parliamentary committee was not part of the panel’s initial agenda and was scheduled later as the delegation was visiting India, sources said.