The Congress on Saturday said it was a matter of “shame” that other countries were lecturing India about democracy, diversity and tolerance and insisted the country introspect on why it was suffering this ignominy under the Narendra Modi government.

The comments came after US President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris underscored the importance of democratic principles and Gandhian tolerance when they met Prime Minister Modi separately in Washington DC earlier in the week.

The Congress, which has steadfastly accused Modi of trampling on democratic institutions and constitutional values, has found merit in the concerns expressed by Biden and Harris.

The Congress has also extended support to the farmers’ call for a nationwide shutdown on Monday, accusing Modi of an undemocratic attitude towards a movement that has completed 10 months despite the death of over 600 protesters.

Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh cited how the world is coming to believe that democracy is in peril in India.

“Freedom House is an independent agency that rates democracies in the world. They downgraded India and described us as a ‘partially independent democracy’,” he said.

“(Swedish) institute V-Dem, which expressed concern about diminishing democracy, finally said in its latest report that India was an elected autocracy now.”

Vallabh added: “Every Indian’s head will hang in shame when others express concern about democracy in our country.... We are the land of Mahatma Gandhi, and now the American President is tutoring us on Gandhian values of non-violence and tolerance.

“Kamala Harris tells our Prime Minister that democracies are in danger across the world. We should understand that they too would be getting to know what is happening in India, that the Indian Prime Minister talks of shamshan-kabristan, a chief minister refers to ‘Abba Jan’.”

Vallabh said: “People are now reminding us of Mahatma Gandhi because of the hate this government has spread in society for the last seven years.”

“Shamshan-kabristan (cremation ground-graveyard)” was a reference to a comment Modi had made before the 2017 Uttar Pradesh polls that was seen as an attempt to polarise voters on religious lines. Yogi Adityanath recently referred to “Abba Jan”, again in what is seen as an attempt at polarisation.

Biden on Friday said: “The world celebrates Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday next week. We’re all reminded that his message of non-violence, respect, tolerance, matters today, maybe more than ever.”

A day before, Harris had said that “democracies around the world are under threat”.

The Congress believes that Modi should be able to decipher these messages from Biden and Harris.

Rahul Gandhi has spoken about the threats to Indian democracy before international audiences. The return of awards by writers, artists and scientists in protest against lynchings has drawn global attention, as have the movement against the citizenship amendment and the attacks on citizens’ eating habits and inter-community marriages.

Modi has received adverse international media coverage for India’s mismanagement of the pandemic, and many prestigious journals and newspapers have described him as a divisive figure bent on enforcing a majoritarian agenda.

The farmers’ movement too has attracted global spotlight, with the angry responses of the Right-wing ecosystem to international celebrities tweeting in support of the extraordinary protest ending up amplifying their message.

The arrest of 22-year-old environment activist Disha Ravi on sedition charges, in a case relating to a social media toolkit created in support of the agitating farmers, got wide coverage because of her organisation’s link with the celebrated Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.

The government’s decision to plant nails on the roads and erect barbed-wire fences to block the farmers too provoked critical reactions abroad.

“We have reason to support this (farmers’) movement and the ‘Bharat bandh’ call,” Vallabh said.

“The Government of India hasn’t shown any concern or sensitivity to the ordeal of farmers.... They have taken a series of anti-farmer decisions, from an exploitative insurance scheme to a savage hike in diesel prices. The input cost has increased by Rs 25,000 per hectare and the (farmers’) debt (has) almost doubled. A government survey shows a farmer’s average income is Rs 27 per day.”