Nikki Haley visits religious places in city, prepares rotis for langar
New Delhi: A day after she said freedom of religion was as important as freedom of people, Nikki Haley, the US envoy to the United Nations, visited a temple, mosque, gurdwara, and church in the national capital on Thursday.
On her first visit to India after becoming the US envoy to UN, Ms Haley visited the Gauri Shankar Mandir, Jama Masjid, Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib, and the Central Baptist Church in the morning.
Ms Haley, who is a daughter of Sikh immigrants from Punjab, also prepared rotis for langar at the gurdwara. The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) took up with Ms Haley the issue of 52 Indians, mostly Sikhs, being held at a detention centre in the US state of Oregon for being part of a large contingent of illegal immigrants seeking asylum there.
BJP legislator and DSGMC general secretary Manjinder Singh Sirsa interacted with Ms Haley while she was visiting the gurudwara along with Kenneth Juster, the US ambassador to India. The BJP legislator posted a series of tweets about his meeting with Ms Haley.
“We are humbled to have @nikkihaley Ji and @USAmbIndia paying obeisance at Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahab. We requested Nikki Ji to address the problem of 52 Indians detained in Oregon Jail. @nikkihaley Ji immediately took note and discussed it with @USAmbIndia to resolve the issue. We will be meeting Mr Ken Juster soon to discuss the matter in detail,” he tweeted.
Ms Haley, on Wednesday, called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed ways to enhance India-US cooperation in various fields, including counter-terrorism. She also met external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and discussed ways to deepen the Indo-US strategic partnership and the ongoing cooperation between the two countries at the UN.
Ms Haley also met Nobel Peace laureate Kailash Satyarthi and reiterated America’s commitment to end child trafficking. Accompanied by Mr Juster, she began her India tour with a visit to the majestic tomb of Mughal emperor Humayun.
Speaking to reporters there, she said, “We think freedom of religion is just as important as freedom of rights and the freedom of people.”
She had visited India in late 2014, when she was the South Carolina governor. Ms Haley is the first Indian-American to serve in a Cabinet level position in any US presidential administration..
