'Surprised': PM Modi replies as US reporter questions on Muslim rights in India
It is unusual for Modi to take questions from the media, beyond the occasional interviews during his foreign visits.
In a rare occurrence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took questions from journalists on Thursday during a joint press briefing with US President Joe Biden at the White House. Replying to a question from the US media on the steps taken by the Indian government to protect the rights of Muslims and other minorities and uphold free speech, Modi said that ‘democracy runs in our veins’. Asserting that the country does not discriminate on the basis of religion or caste, the PM invoked the much-emphasised slogan of the BJP - sabka saath, sabka vikas.
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"We are a democracy...India & America both have democracy in our DNA. Democracy is in our spirit & we live it and it's written in our Constitution...So no question of discrimination on the grounds of caste, creed or religion arises. That is why, India believes in sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas, sabka prayaas and walks ahead with it..," he said.
PM Modi Questioned By WSJ On Muslims And Human Rights In India | Watch His Response
It is unusual for Modi to take questions from the media, beyond the occasional interviews during his foreign visits. Modi has not addressed a single press conference after he became prime minister in 2014. In May 2019, he attended a press conference but did not take questions.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said the White House understands the press conference is a “big deal.” The format of the press conference included one question from the US press and one from an Indian journalist, Kirby said.
Read: Barack Obama talks of ‘Muslim minorities in India' as PM Modi meets Joe Biden. Congress reacts
White House press conferences with other world leaders have been tightly controlled, with U.S. officials designating reporters beforehand from the American and foreign media for Biden and his guest to call upon, and a very limited number of questions.
Biden had been facing increasing pressure from fellow Democrats to raise alleged human rights issues with Modi after 75 US Senators and Congressional lawmakers wrote a letter to the President outlining their areas of concern.
After meeting President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden for a private dinner at the White House on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a crucial one-on-one bilateral discussion.
Notably, US lawmakers Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamie Raskin would not be attending Modi’s joint congressional address, alleging that the ‘Modi-led union government in India has repressed religious minorities’.