NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman has launched a scathing attack on the unfavorable Western “perceptions being built” about India, claiming that the Muslim population in India has been increasing since Independence and that it is now the second-largest Muslim population in the world, while religious minorities in Pakistan have been wiped out.

“Those talking about perception should know that the Muslim population in India has not dwindled between 2014 and 2023,” said the FM while taking part in a discussion.

Sitharaman, who is in Washington for the IMF and World Bank spring meetings, claimed that foreign investments have continued to flow into India and rejected perceptions formed by those who have not observed the changes occurring in the nation. She urged investors to come and see what is happening on the ground.

During a discussion at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, Sitharaman responded to questions by saying, “I would tell the prospective investors to come and look at what’s happening in India rather than listen to perceptions being built by people who have not visited the ground but (are) writing reports.”

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