Thu Feb 06 18:04:06 UTC 2025: **Indian-American Activist Kshama Sawant Condemns Indian Opposition’s Silence on Visa Denials**
**Chennai, February 7, 2025** – Kshama Sawant, a prominent Indian-American politician and critic of India’s Hindu Right, has urged India’s political opposition to speak out against the denial of visas to critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Ms. Sawant, whose own visa application to visit her ailing mother in Bengaluru was denied twice in 2024, cites the cases of Ashok Swain, a Sweden-based professor whose OCI card was revoked, and Avani Dias, a former journalist who left India after her visa extension was denied.
Ms. Sawant, a former Seattle City Council member, argues that the opposition’s failure to address these issues mirrors the inaction of the US Democratic Party against the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant policies. She contends that this lack of unified action by liberal parties in both countries has paved the way for the rise of right-wing leaders like Donald Trump and Narendra Modi.
Ms. Sawant highlights the dire health condition of her 82-year-old mother, whose doctor’s letter supporting an emergency visa application was ignored. She plans to legally challenge the visa denial.
Ms. Sawant, known for her advocacy for workers’ rights and her role in Seattle’s $20.76 minimum wage, criticizes both US and Indian liberal parties for their support of big businesses and their failure to represent the working class. She advocates for an independent working-class movement as the solution. She also criticizes prominent Indian-American Democratic politicians for their silence on anti-immigrant policies under the Trump administration.
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