Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday reaffirmed the importance of democracy in his country and denied that there was any space for discrimination in his government during a joint news conference from the White House.
“Democracy is our spirit,” Modi said through an interpreter in response to a question about human rights concerns. “Democracy runs in our veins. We live democracy and our ancestors have actually put words to this concept.”
President Joe Biden, who welcomed Modi on Thursday for a state visit, responded to a similar question about whether his administration was overlooking these allegations. Human rights advocates have criticizes India’s treatment and discrimination of religious minorities and others on the basis of caste, as well as crackdowns on dissent and freedoms.
Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app: https://to.pbs.org/2Jb8twG
Find more from PBS NewsHour at https://www.pbs.org/newshour
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2HfsCD6
Follow us:
Facebook: http://www.pbs.org/newshour
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/newshour
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/newshour
