WASHINGTON: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman repudiated claims of Indian ruling elites choking down the Muslim population in the country. The minister was at The Peterson Institute for International Economics, Washington when the intellectual questions popped up.

Sitharaman retorted the question as she said “India ranks as the second most Muslim populated country in the world. If the usual bogey of accusations of Muslims facing crisis in Modi's India were true, then the population would have shrunk, but estimates point the Muslim population in India burgeoning at a rapid pace.”

She also gave neighboring Pakistan's record of treating minorities. She ridiculed the nation for not even treating the Muslim majority with concern. The minister pointed to the fall of Hindu and Sikh numbers in Pakistan to juxtapose with what India has achieved.

Nirmala Sitharaman will take part in a meeting with the world bank officials and G20 countries in the coming days. The minister’s American trip is scheduled for one week.