1. The MEA reacted cautiously after President Trump shared a post calling India a "hell-hole" to argue against US birthright citizenship.
2. Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated, "We have seen some reports. That’s where I will leave it," refusing to elaborate further.
3. The restrained response comes as the controversial remarks intensify the US debate on birthright citizenship.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has issued a carefully worded response after US President Donald Trump shared a social media post on his platform, Truth Social, that referred to India and China as "hell-holes."
The MEA's reaction came after Trump amplified a letter and video from conservative radio host Michael Savage.
In the clip from his podcast, The Savage Nation, Savage argued against birthright citizenship in the United States, a policy Trump has long sought to end. As part of his argument, Savage claimed that people travel from other countries to give birth in the US so their children can gain citizenship, stating they come from "China or India or some other hellhole on the planet".
When asked about the controversial remark at a press conference on Thursday, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal gave a brief and restrained response. "We have seen some reports. That’s where I will leave it," he said, without further elaboration.
This diplomatic reaction comes amid a broader political debate in the US. Trump has been vocally critical of birthright citizenship, which is guaranteed by the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, and the issue is currently being deliberated by the US Supreme Court. Trump shared Savage's post just a day after claiming in an interview that "no country in the world" offers birthright citizenship other than the United States.
The comments have drawn criticism in India. The opposition Congress party has demanded an official protest from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, calling the remarks "extremely insulting and anti-India" .
In an unexpected show of support, the Iranian Embassy in Hyderabad posted on X (formerly Twitter) defending India and China, calling them "cradles of civilisation" and directing its own criticism at President Trump.