CPI Member of Parliament Binoy Viswam said he would boycott the R-Day 2020 parade in protest against the invitation to Brazilian President Jair Messias Bolsonaro as its Chief Guest.
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he released to the press, Mr. Viswam said he was anguished to know that Mr. Bolsonaro would be the Chief Guest of the Republic Day parade despite the fact that the President had sought sanctions against India at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) for coming to the aid of its sugarcane farmers.
“It is astonishing that you have welcomed a leader whose ideology and policies are tarnished by bigotry, misogyny, homophobia, and discrimination,” Mr Viswam said in his letter. President Bolsonaro's actions were directly in conflict with ethos of the Indian Constitution, he alleged.
“President Bolsonaro’s apathy and inaction for over two months when the Amazon rainforest was burning has caused irreparable damage to the global environment and as a country committed towards addressing climate change India must condemn him for those actions,” he wrote.
Mr. Viswam said it was sad that the government had forgotten President Bolsonaro's demand at the WTO. “His actions are a direct threat to the livelihood of over 5 crore sugarcane farming families in India and your invitation to him signals a complete disregard for your own citizens and their plight.”
