JK News Today
Jammu, June 06 The White House on Monday dismissed all the notions about the prejudiced views about the health of Indian democracy , proclaiming it in clearest possible terms that India is a vibrant democracy , while reaffirming that how Washington is looking forward to the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, scheduled to take place later this month .
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting the United States on the invitation of President Biden, who also is hosting dinner in his honour .
John Kirby , Coordinator for Strategic Communications in the National Security Council in the White House , while answering questions at a press briefing on Monday underlined the importance that Modi’s visit holds for the United States.
Kirby while replying to a question whether the Biden administration was concerned about the health of Indian democracy , said “ India is a vibrant democracy . Any — anybody that, you know, happens to go to New Delhi can see that for themselves. “
“ And certainly, I would expect that the strength and health of democratic institutions will be part of the discussion,” he said .
He went on to say, “ Look, we never shy away — and you can do that with friends; you’re supposed to do that with friends — you never shy away from expressing concerns that we might have with anyone around the world. “
Again Kirby underscored the importance of Modi’s US visit , saying , “ this visit is really about advancing what is now and what we hope will be a deeper, stronger partnership and friendship going forward.”
Kirby , in a way rebuffed the reporter who raised questions as to why Modi has been invited to the US. The reporter had asked, “ I know you will have made a very large focus in this administration on the divide between autocracies and democracies, and there have been questions about the health of India’s democracy under Narendra Modi. I wanted you to articulate why have the invitation for the state dinner. And then I have a follow-up “
To this , Kirby replied , “India is a strong partner on very, very many levels with the United States. You saw that, in Shangri-La, Secretary Austin announced some additional defense cooperation now that we’re going to pursue with India. Of course, there’s an awful lot of economic trade between our two countries. India is a member of the Pacific Quad and a key friend and partner with respect to Indo-Pacific security.”
Kirby went on to tell the reporter : “ I could go on and on and on. There’s — there’s innumerable reasons why India certainly matters not just bilaterally between the two of our nations, but multilaterally on very many levels. And the President is looking forward very much to having Prime Minister Modi here to talk about all those issues and to advance and deepen that partnership and that friendship.”
