50 protest against official visit by Modi

PUTRAJAYA: Some 50 people from 45 non-governmental organisations (NGO) staged a peaceful protest against the official visit by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) here today.
The group had gathered earlier at the outskirts of the Putra Mosque to protest against Modi's alleged ill-treatment of the Tamil, Muslim and other minority communities in India.
Many held up placards that read "Modi go home" and condemned the incidents of lynching Muslims by Hindu-rights mobs.
A spokesperson for the NGOs Bazeer Ahmad Mohamed Ibrahim expressed hope that Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed would take considerable note of their memo.
"In India, the lowest caste (Dalits) and those from the minority groups such as the Muslims, Christians and Buddhists have been subjected to endless persecution by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh "National Volunteer Organisation" (RSS) which is aligned to Modi's political party.
"I hope Mahathir would speak up against such tyranny, killings and oppression having been given the second chance to rule the country," he told reporters prior to handing the memo to representatives at the PMO.
Among the NGOs that turned up included Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM), Pertubuhan Naam Tamilar Malaysia (PNTM) and Persatuan Pengguna Islam Malaysia (PPIM) among others.
Modi, who earlier arrived from Indonesia, met Mahathir at Perdana Putra at 11.35 am.
The brief stopover by Modi in the country was to personally extend his best wishes and congratulations to Mahathir on Pakatan Harapan's victory in the 14th General Election and subsequent appointment as the prime minister.
This is Modi's second visit to country after coming here in 2015.