Former US President Barack Obama has come under fire from BJP leaders in India for recent comments he made about Muslims in their country.
Last week, Mr. Obama stated in an interview that if minorities' rights weren't upheld, India might "start pulling apart.".
He was answering a query about how Vice President Joe Biden ought to interact with "autocratic" leaders.
While on a state visit to the US, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was there.
Nirmala Sitharaman, the federal finance minister, expressed her shock at Mr. Obama's remarks to reporters on Sunday.
"A former US president made remarks about Indian Muslims while Mr. Modi was running for office in the US, and by running for office I mean speaking about India. ".
She continued by stating that although India desired positive relations with the US, "there, too, we receive remarks about religious tolerance in India.".
During Mr. Modi's three-day trip to the US, he was given a formal welcome at the White House, attended a sumptuous state dinner, and signed several significant agreements.
Leaders in business and the sizable and powerful Indian diaspora, which includes many CEOs from Silicon Valley, gave him a warm welcome. There were, however, also demonstrations against his administration, which is run by the Hindu nationalist BJP and has been criticized for not doing enough to safeguard minorities from discrimination and violence.
In a letter to Mr. Biden during his visit, 75 Democrats urged him to bring up the subject of human rights with Mr. Modi. Some of them boycotted his speech to Congress, including representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
In response to a question about the rights of Muslims and other minorities in India, Mr. Modi said during a press conference he held alongside Mr. Biden that there was "no space for any discrimination.".
Obama had stated that Mr. Biden should bring up the "protection of the Muslim minority in a majority Hindu India" when speaking to Mr. Modi in an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour that aired before Mr. Modi addressed the US Congress.
While in office, Mr. Obama and Mr. Modi had a cordial relationship.
Ms. Sitharaman, however, claimed that while Mr. Obama was president, the US bombed nations with a majority of Muslims, such as Syria and Yemen.
The US and Mr. Obama have not responded to these comments in the media.
Earlier on Sunday, Mr. Modi tweeted his support for Mr. Biden's assertion that the friendship between the two nations is one of "the most consequential in the world.".
Days had passed since a BJP chief minister's controversial tweet that prompted Ms. Sitharaman's remarks.
According to Himanta Biswa Sarma, the chief minister of Assam, there are a lot of "Hussain Obamas in India itself" who require assistance. He was responding to a journalist's sarcastic tweet in which the journalist questioned whether Mr. Obama had been accused of "hurting sentiments" with his comments about India.
Barack Hussein Obama II is Mr. Obama's full name.
A "veiled threat" was allegedly made against India's Muslim population by Mr. Sarma, according to some opposition politicians.
In spite of the fact that the former president does not practice Islam, political scientist Ashutosh Varshney claimed in a statement to the Washington Post that Mr. Sarma's tweet mentioning Mr. Obama's middle name was an attempt to "twist" his comments into ones "made by a Muslim.".
Following the uproar, Mr. Sarma told the Indian Express that he stood by his tweet.
the YouTube channel for BBC News India. Click . here. to subscribe and watch our explainers, features, and documentaries.
