Modi distances himself from Trump, slams 'unlawful protest' by supporters of outgoing US President

Modi not only termed the protest by the supporters of Trump as unlawful', but also stressed on 'orderly transfer of power'

Despite his ‘friendship’ with Donald Trump, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday strongly disapproved attempts by the violent supporters of the outgoing United States President to disrupt the proceedings of the American Congress and stop it from officially clearing the way for Joe Biden to take over.

Modi not only termed the protest by the supporters of Trump as “unlawful”, but also stressed on “orderly and peaceful transfer of power” in Washington D.C.

“Distressed to see news about rioting and violence in Washington DC. Orderly and peaceful transfer of power must continue,” the Prime Minister posted on Twitter. “The democratic process cannot be allowed to be subverted through unlawful protests," he added.

Read: Trump agrees for 'orderly transition on January 20'

He is among the many world leaders to publicly condemn violent protests staged by the supporters of the outgoing US President in the Capitol Hill of Washington D.C.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern too tweeted to disapprove the attempt to disrupt the proceedings of the American Congress and stop it from certifying the result of the US presidential elections.

At least four people died and 52 were arrested as Trump’s supporters stormed into the Capitol Hill – shortly after the outgoing US President delivered a speech in a rally, reiterating that he would never concede defeat to Biden.

Read: US Congress certifies Biden win over Trump

Biden won 306 of the 538 electoral college votes in the elections held in November 2020, leaving Trump far behind with only 232.

Trump, however, continued to challenge the outcome of the election, alleging irregularities in conduct of the polling and counting of votes in several battleground states, even after 61 of the 62 lawsuits filed by him and his lawyers were rejected by the courts across the US.

Modi’s strongly-worded tweet disapproving the violent protests by the supporters of Trump also appeared to be a move by New Delhi to distance from the outgoing US President and to reach out to the incoming administration of Biden.

Read: Washington chaos leaves image of 'exceptional' America in tatters

Soon after the US TV networks had declared Biden and his Indian-American running mate Kamala Harris as President-elect and Vice-President-elect on November 7, Modi had congratulated them on Twitter. He did not wait for outgoing Trump to concede defeat, notwithstanding the ‘bromance’ the two leaders displayed in public at least twice during the run-up to the elections – first at the “Howdy! Modi” event in Houston on September 22, 2019 and then again at its sequel, the “Namaste Trump” conclave in Ahmedabad on February 24, 2020.

Modi’s “Aab Ki Bar Trump Sarkar” comment at the “Howdy! Modi” event was interpreted by some as his call to Indian-American community to support the US President’s re-election campaign. New Delhi had to clarify later that the Prime Minister had in fact, referred to the US President’s 2016 campaign seeking support of the Indian-American community.