Who is Ilhan Omar, US Congresswoman whose meeting with Rahul Gandhi sparked row?

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s meeting with Ilhan Omar, a US House of Representatives member, has stirred a row with the BJP condemning it over her alleged anti-India stance.

The BJP leaders cited Omar’s comments on the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, her views on Kashmir, and her visit to Pakistan, among other actions, to criticise the Congress leader’s meeting.

WHO IS ILHAN OMAR?

Ilhan Omar represents Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District in the US House of Representatives, which includes Minneapolis and surrounding suburbs.

A policy analyst, organiser, public speaker and advocate, Omar was sworn into office in January 2019, making her the first African refugee to become a Member of Congress and the first woman of colour to represent Minnesota. She was one of the first two Muslim-American women elected to Congress.

Born in Somalia, Omar and her family fled the country’s civil war when she was eight. The family spent four years in a refugee camp in Kenya before coming to the United States in 1990s. In 1997, she moved to Minneapolis with her family.

Before entering politics and running for office, she worked as a community educator at the University of Minnesota, was a Policy Fellow at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs and served as a Senior Policy Aide for the Minneapolis City Council.

Omar is the Vice-Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee. She also serves on the House Education and Workforce Committee, where she is a member of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections and Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labour, Pensions (HELP).

She is the Deputy Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and Vice-Chair of the Medicare For All Caucus.

ILHAN OMAR’S ‘ANTI-INDIA’ STAND

In September 2023, Omar said the US must fully support the Canadian investigation into India’s alleged role in the assassination of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

She also introduced a resolution to condemn alleged human rights violations and violations of international religious freedom in India, including those targeting Muslims and other religious minorities.

In June 2023, Omar boycotted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the US Congress.

She introduced a resolution in June 2022 calling on the US Secretary of State to designate India as a country of particular concern for alleged violations of religious freedom.

In April 2022, she visited Pakistan, met with top Pakistani leaders, including former Prime Minister Imran Khan, and travelled to Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK). India condemned the US Congresswoman’s visit to POK.

In 2019, she also criticised the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, calling it a part of the “Hindu nationalism project” of PM Modi. She has also been openly critical of the decision to abrogate Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.