image

Committed to protecting everyone's freedom, intolerance to be dealt with severely : PM Modi

by IBNS 13 Nov 2015, 11:36 am

London, Nov 13 (IBNS) India is committed to protecting every citizen's freedom, and the law will harshly deal with those who are intolerant, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said at a joint press conference with his UK counterpart David Cameron in London.

His assertion came in response to a question by British media :Why "India is becoming an increasingly intolerant place".

'India is the land of Buddha and Gandhi, we will not accept any deviation from our values. Every such incident is serious. We won't tolerate such incidents...The law will deal severely with such incidents. India is a vibrant democracy and we are committed to it," he said.
 
Among several uncomfortable questions that Modi faced was the one on a visa ban on him after the Gujarat riots of 2002, when he was chief minister of the state. Britain ended the boycott in 2012.
 
 "To set the record straight, I came here in 2003 and was welcomed. UK has never stopped me from coming here. That is a wrong perception," Modi said.
 
He did not answer a question on protests being staged during his three-day visit by some groups that have accused PM Modi of creating an "authoritarian culture" in India.
 
Some 46 British MPs have signed a parliamentary motion urging  Cameron to raise what they call human rights issues with the Indian government.
 
Ahead of PM Modi's visit British media talked about "deepening troubles" mentioning the allegations of  "intolerance" in India and the defeat of the BJP, the ruling party in India, in  the Bihar assembly elections.