Biden may stress on importance of democracy during talks with Modi

President Joe Biden may once again stress the importance of democracy, human rights, and freedoms during his interactions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a senior official of the United States government hinted.

Biden is “a straight shooter” and “has no problem talking to leaders about humanitarian rights, about freedoms, about the importance of democracy”, the White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, told journalists in Washington.

She was responding to a question on whether the US Government had any comment on demolitions of the houses of people in India for protesting derogatory comments made by two leaders of the ruling BJP against Prophet Muhammad. A journalist had asked if Biden would press Modi harder to protect Muslims in India.

Read | Encourage India to promote respect for human rights: US on Prophet row

“He (Biden) has no problem talking to leaders about humanitarian rights, about freedoms, about the importance of democracy,” Jean-Pierre said, adding: “This is something that the president has done in the past.”

The PM is likely to travel to Schloss Elmau in Germany to attend the G7 summit on June 26 and 27. Though India is not a member of the G7, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is hosting the summit, has invited him to attend its outreach sessions to be held alongside the conclave. The US president will also attend the G7 summit.

Modi and Biden may have a bilateral meeting on the sideline of the G7 summit, although neither New Delhi nor Washington confirmed it so far. The two leaders will also participate in a virtual summit next month to launch the I2U2 – a new bloc, comprising India, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.

“He (Biden) is a straight shooter and speaks very frankly. And when it comes to humanitarian rights, has no problem having those direct conversations — leader conversations,” Jean-Pierre said during a briefing in the White House.

Biden’s Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier this month stated that India, the world’s largest democracy and home to a great diversity of faiths, had seen rising attacks on people and places of worship.

He made the remark after releasing the US State Department’s 2021 Report on International Religious Freedom. The report highlighted the purported rise in religious intolerance in India.