Obama's comments on Muslim rights in India spark row

FORMER US president Barack Obama has faced criticism from leaders of India's governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for his remarks concerning Muslims in India.

Obama expressed concerns that India may "start pulling apart" if the rights of minorities were not safeguarded.

He made these comments while addressing a question on how president Joe Biden should engage with "illiberal democrats."

Obama told CNN the issue of the "protection of the Muslim minority in a majority-Hindu India" would be worth raising in Modi's meeting with Biden.

The Indian prime minister Narendra Modi was on a state visit to the US at the time.

India's finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has derided comments by Obama that Modi's government should protect the rights of minority Muslims, accusing Obama of being hypocritical.

She said she was shocked that Obama has made such remarks when Modi was visiting the US aiming to deepen relations.

"He was commenting on Indian Muslims ... having bombed Muslim-majority countries from Syria to Yemen ... during his presidency," Sitharaman told a press conference on Sunday (25).

"Why would anyone listen to any allegations from such people?"

The controversy ensued after a tweet by the chief minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma, prompting comments from Sitharaman.

Sarma's tweet stated that there were numerous "Hussain Obama in India itself" who required attention, in response to a journalist's sarcastic tweet questioning whether a case had been filed against Obama for his remarks on India that allegedly hurt sentiments.

Barack Obama's full name is Barack Hussein Obama II.

Opposition politicians accused Sarma of implying a "veiled threat" towards India's Muslim population.

Ashutosh Varshney, a political scientist, explained to the Washington Post that Sarma's mention of Obama's middle name was an attempt to distort his remarks and associate them with being "made by a Muslim," despite Obama not practising Islam.

Following the controversy, Sarma reaffirmed his stance in an interview with the Indian Express newspaper, stating that he stood by his tweet.

Meanwhile, the US State Department has raised concerns over treatment of Muslims other religious minorities in India. But the Indian government said it treats all citizens equally and there is no religious discrimination.

Dozens of protesters gathered near the White House on Thursday (22).

Biden said he discussed human rights and other democratic values with Modi during their talks in the White House.

However, Modi said, the benefits of the Indian government's policies are accessible to everyone.

During a press conference with Biden last week, Modi denied any discrimination against minorities under his government despite rights groups and State Department reports of abuses.

Asked at the press conference what steps he was willing to take to "improve the rights of Muslims and other minorities in your country and to uphold free speech," Modi suggested they did not need to be improved.

"Our Constitution and our government, and we have proved democracy can deliver. When I say deliver - caste, creed, religion, gender, there is no space for any discrimination (in my government)," Modi told reporters.

(With inputs from agencies)