A temple in Seattle in the state of Washington has been vandalized, triggering a police investigation and strong reactions in India, where politicians reminded President Barack Obama of his recent comments on religious tolerance.
A swastika and the words "Get out" were spray painted on a wall of one of the largest Hindu temples in the North West.
"They always say they are a pluralist and inclusive society. What happened is totally unacceptable," said Congress leader PC Chacko to news agency ANI. "One Indian Brutally attacked by US Police, One Indian Shot dead,One Temple Vandalized ..Martin Luther King would really be saddened by this!" tweeted the BJP's Sambit Patra, referencing recent attacks on Indians in America.
During his recent trip to India, President Obama said that India's success depended on its not splintering along religious lines, a comment that the White House later denied was intended as a rebuke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government which has been accused by the opposition of exploiting religious differences.
Just days ago, President Obama said that recent acts of religious intolerance in India would have shocked Mahatma Gandhi.
The Seattle temple was vandalized on the eve of celebrations for the festival of Mahashivratri. "This kind of thing should not happen in the US. Who are you telling to get out? This is a nation of immigrants," Nitya Niranjan, chairman of the board of trustees of the temple, said to news agency PTI.
On February 15, a man of Indian origin was shot dead in the liquor store that he was manning in New Jersey. Last week, the Indian government asked the US for a report on the case of an elderly man from Gujarat who has been left partially paralyzed after alleged police brutality in Alabama.
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