India did not plot to steal US jobs: John McCain

Washington, Nov 6: With American jobs and economy top on Barack Obama's priority list during his three-day India visit, Republican Senator John McCain has condemned the "political" contentions portraying India as the bad guy behind US' high unemployment level.

Speaking against efforts to "demonise" India over outsourcing, McCain said, "We cannot allow our anxieties about globalisation to cause us to demonise India for crass political gain."

In his remarks on Indo-US ties at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the prominent Rebulican leader stressed, "Outsourcing is an inescapable feature of today's global economy, not an Indian plot to steal American jobs, and we should not condone any unfair punishments of Indian workers."

"On the Indian side, relations with the US cannot remain a political club, which the party out of power uses to beat up the party in power for doing exactly what it would have done were it governing.

"More leaders on both sides need to speak up for this partnership, and fight harder for it, and build the public support needed to sustain our strategic priorities. If not, our relationship will fall far short of its potential, as it has before," he added

Obama will land in India on Nov 6 with US economy and jobs top on his agenda. These issues are expected to take the centre stage especially after the voters ditched the Democrats in the recently concluded mid-term polls over the sluggish economy and high unemployment rate. Republicans, who stood to gain from the public disgruntlement, won the majority in the House of Representatives.

Obama has repeatedly vowed to fight the evils of outsourcing and bring the American jobs back home ever since he came into power in 2008.

OneIndia News