By IndiaTomorrow.net,
New Delhi, 14 Nov 2015: The London press conference of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was perhaps the toughest for him since he assumed the high office in May 2014. He faced blunt, unpolished questions from the British media led by BBC.
As soon as his joint press conference with British PM David Cameron ended at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London on Thursday, the Q&A session was opened by the BBC correspondent with a question that has been talk of the town back home for around two months. “Prime minister Modi, India is becoming an increasingly intolerant place. Why?” asked the BBC reporter.
PM Modi responded, perhaps first time on the issue: “This is the land of Buddha and Gandhi,” began PM Modi while responding to the question about the growing violence and intolerance in India. “Therefore, it is in our culture and veins that our country India does not accept anything against the basic values of society. And therefore, if an incident occurs in any part of the country – whether it is one incident, two or three; if one incident carries importance in a country of 125 crore people it is meaningless for us – every incident is serious for us. We do not tolerate it at any cost. The law takes strict action against this and it will continue to do so. And India is a vibrant democracy with a constitution that gives even the most ordinary citizen security of every kind, and is committed to protecting their thoughts. And we are committed to this.”
The BBC was followed by The Guardian in asking a tough question about Modi: “Prime minister Cameron, can I ask you how comfortable do you feel welcoming prime minister Modi to this country given that for the first two years of your premiership he was not permitted to visit this country because of his record as chief minister of Gujarat?”
The correspondent of the leading English daily also asked Modi about the protests against him in London over the Gujarat riots 2002.
In response, while Cameron said he was “pleased to welcome prime minister Modi here as he comes with an enormous mandate from the people of India who made him prime minister with a record and historic majority,” Modi countered the question about the purported ban on his visit to United Kingdom.
“Firstly, to set the record straight, I want to inform you that I had come to the UK in 2003 and was welcomed and respected… and attended events here. The UK has never stopped me from coming here. There was no restriction ever…” said PM Modi.
In the last one and half years, Modi has visited over two dozen countries but nowhere did he face such tough, blunt questions from the press.
Why the British media went offensive could be seen in two recent developments: One, the humiliating defeat of PM Modi’s party BJP in the Assembly elections in Bihar – India’s third most populous state. Two, the recent incidents of intolerance like three murders over beef, murder of three writers and intellectuals and ink attacks.
