Washington, May 1

Republican lawmakers on Friday criticised President Joe Biden for imposing restrictions on travel from India in view of the sudden surge in Covid cases in the country.

“Restricting travel to our ally India while leaving our border open to Mexico is not rational,” Congressman Tim Burchett said in a tweet, soon after the White House announced Biden’s decision.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki had said on Friday, “The policy will be implemented from May 4 in light of extraordinarily high Covid caseloads and multiple variants circulating in India.”

Another Republican lawmaker, Jodey Arrington, said, “Biden enacting an India travel ban while keeping the border open is like locking your front door, but leaving the back door wide open. I wonder if the Left will accuse him of being xenophobic and anti-Hindu?”

Congresswoman Lauren Boebert tweeted, “As Biden bans flights from India, perhaps he should be reminded of a tweet he put out last year. Also, I thought travel bans were xenophobic.”

Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna, however, supported the travel ban. “But what we really need to do is prioritise lives over excess profits. Pfizer and Moderna need to license their formulas,” Khanna said. — PTI

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