India
"Other governments may behave this way, but it is crucial that we set an example for democracy and not follow suit," Meadows, who is a two-term Congressman from North Carolina, said in a tweet.
Updated : Jun 26, 2016, 11:14 PM IST
PM Modi might have thrilled US Congressmen with his brilliant oratory but it seems that we can do little to change people's perceptions. A US lawmaker has compared an unprecedented sit-in inside the House of Representatives by Democratic lawmakers to the protest by AIADMK members in the Rajya Sabha in March, saying "other governments may behave this way" but US should not follow suit. Congressman Mark Meadows posted two photos -- one of the Democratic party sit-in and the other of AIADMK protest by lawmakers inside the Rajya Sabha in March -- saying they look "disturbingly similar".
"Other governments may behave this way, but it is crucial that we set an example for democracy and not follow suit," Meadows, who is a two-term Congressman from North Carolina, said in a tweet accompanying the photographs.
The photos of the uproar in AIADMK Parliament in India and the Democratic sit in this week look disturbingly similar pic.twitter.com/z4cE0yaC9L
— Mark Meadows (@RepMarkMeadows) June 26, 2016
Under the leadership of legendary John Lewis, Democratic lawmakers resorted to an unprecedented sit-in inside the well of the House of Representatives demanding vote on a strong gun control laws earlier this month after the Orlando massacre in which 49 people were killed by Afghan-origin gunman Omar Mateen. The Speaker of the US House of Representatives described this as a publicity stunt. The Democrats ended the sit-in after 24 hours.
We don't know what's more disturbing that the lawmaker fails to acknowledge the serious problem that guns pose in the USA as he mocks the opposition?
Or the fact that he thinks despite the obvious bonhomie between the two nations, India is an example of misbehaving lawmakers, at a time when his party's leading presidential candidate has completely rewritten the rules of etiquette, manners and civil speech in general. It must take some gall to point out deficiencies of other democracies when Donald Trump continues to lower the global view of USA with every single statement.
With agency inputs