| Krishna urges Hillary to assure safety of Indians after temple killings |
NEW DELHI External Affairs Minister SM Krishna on Tuesday said he had spoken to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and conveyed to her India’s concerns over the killing of six people in a gurdwara in Wisconsin. He also told her that the US needed to assure the Indian community that it will be safe.
Krishna spoke to Hillary late on Monday.
“I had a chance to talk to Hillary who is touring South Africa. I have conveyed our concerns about the attack and loss of very precious life in this heinous crime against place of religious worship,” Krishna said.
He said he had told her that an “assurance to the Indian community has to come out from the Obama administration that they are going to be quite safe”.
“I have also suggested to Hillary that the places of worship in US cutting across religious denominations must be given full protection. I found she is more than willing to do it and she is as disturbed as anyone of us in India,” he said. Referring to investigations into the attack, he said: “I think the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) of US has already swung into the action. Once they are in possession of the report they might convey to India.”
“Our ambassador is in touch with White House with the State Department and I am sure that the kind of inquiry and investigation is going to take place in US is going to reveal the identity and background of the one who was responsible,” he added.
A lone gunman opened fire at devotees at a gurdwara in Milwaukee, Wisonsin, killing six and spreading terror in the area.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) urged the US to pay compensation to Sikhs killed by the gunman.
“The injured should be provided best medical facilities and compensation should be paid to the kith and kin of the killed,” BJP leader Vijay Jolly said in a communication to US envoy Nancy Powell.
Jolly, convenor of the BJP’s overseas affairs, demanded “adequate security” for all gurdwaras and Hindu temples in the US.
Meanwhile, the Punjab government said it would bear the entire expenditure of transporting the bodies of those who were killed.
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who was himself headed for Wisconsin for the wedding function of cabinet colleague Surjit Singh Rakhra’s niece, said the Punjab government would bear the cost of transporting the bodies to India for the last rites as a mark of respect.
Agencies
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