The Modi government has denied a visa to Kshama Sawant, a former member of the Seattle City Council known for her controversial stance against India’s Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC). Sawant, a vocal critic of the Indian government, took to social media to claim that the refusal was politically motivated, alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government were retaliating against her for her criticism of their policies.
“India’s PM Modi & the BJP government are denying me a visa to see my ill mother…”
Sawant’s post on X sparked widespread reactions as she accused India’s leadership of a deliberate attempt to block her from visiting her ailing mother in India. She framed the issue within a broader narrative of oppression, writing: “Modi & the BJP have waged sustained attacks on workers, farmers, Muslims, and other oppressed groups in India, including with the anti-Muslim, anti-poor CAA-NRC law.”
The CAA, passed in 2019, seeks to provide refuge to persecuted minorities — including Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians — from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, who had fled to India as refugees. Contrary to Sawant’s claims, the law does not target Muslims or deprive any Indian citizen of their rights.
CAA and NRC Debate
Sawant’s narrative about the CAA-NRC portraying it as a law that “denied citizenship to millions” is factually incorrect and misleading. There has been considerable disinformation surrounding the CAA, which critics like Sawant have repeatedly misrepresented as a tool to strip Muslims of their citizenship. The Indian government has made clear that the CAA’s sole intent is to grant citizenship to those minorities fleeing religious persecution, not to harm any community or strip anyone of their rights.
Sawant’s statement about the law “denying citizenship to millions” stands in stark contrast to the intent and scope of the legislation. “The CAA does not take anyone’s citizenship. It aims to grant citizenship to persecuted minorities who are already living in India as refugees,” stated a senior Indian government official, refuting Sawant’s assertions.
The Seattle City Council and Kshama Sawant’s Anti-India Stance
This is not the first time Sawant has stirred controversy with her actions. While serving as a member of the Seattle City Council, she led several resolutions that targeted India and its policies. In 2023, she introduced a resolution that singled out Hinduism for additional legal scrutiny in the context of alleged caste-based discrimination. This move drew sharp criticism from Hindu groups and raised questions about her political motivations, with many accusing her of unfairly demonising the community.
During her time as a council member, Sawant was also outspoken in her support for anti-CAA protests, some of which turned violent. Many of these protests, which Sawant supported, saw clashes between protestors and the police, leading to widespread public unrest. Sawant’s vocal support for these “anti-social” elements during the protests raised concerns within India about her international influence and the narratives she propagated about India’s internal affairs.
In the aftermath of the visa denial, people hailed Modi government’s decision as an essential step in safeguarding the country’s integrity. “The Modi government’s zero-tolerance policy towards anti-nationals continues,” said an official from the Ministry of External Affairs. “India will not tolerate any efforts to distort the truth or to promote narratives that harm the unity of the nation.”
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