PM Narendra Modi said, "Democracy is part of our spirit, our blood".
Democracy, rights of minorities and freedom of speech in India were brought into focus today during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's interaction with the US media at the White House. The US and India, PM Modi said, have "overwhelming respect" for each other because "we are democracies and it is in US and India's DNAs to expand democratic institutions".
Interacting with reporters at a joint media conference after bilateral talks with President Joe Biden, PM Modi spoke at length about democracy in India as he responded to a question from a US journalist.
Asked what India will do to improve the rights of religious minorities, PM Modi said, "I am surprised at what you said. We are a democracy. Democracy is part of our spirit, our blood. We live and breathe democracy. And it is in our constitution".
"If there are no human values and human rights, there is no democracy... When we live democracy, there is no question of discrimination," he said.
His government, PM Modi added, "Can deliver and when we deliver there is no discrimination on caste, creed, religion" and quoted the motto of "Sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas (development for all and trust from all).
Everyone has access to amenities, PM Modi asserted, irrespective of religion, caste, age or geography.
The media query came after three US lawmakers -- Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – made headlines declaring that they would boycott the Prime Minister's address to the joint session of the US Congress and spoke of "repressed religious minorities" in India.
In an interview before the White House meeting, former US President Barack Obama said India risks "pulling apart" if the Muslim minority is not respected.
"If I had a conversation with Prime Minister Modi, who I know well, part of my argument would be that if you do not protect the rights of ethnic minorities in India, there is a strong possibility at some point that India starts pulling apart," Mr Obama said in an interview with CNN.
"If the (US) President meets with Prime Minister Modi, then the protection of the Muslim minority in a majority-Hindu India, that's something worth mentioning," Mr Obama said.
He, however, added that addressing human rights with allies was always "complicated.
In the joint press conference, President Joe Biden said democratic values figured in his bilateral with PM Modi and they had a "good discussion" about it.
"We believe in the dignity of every citizen, it is in America's DNA and I believe in India's DNA that a whole world has a stake in our success," said Mr Biden, who recently made headlines, equating Chinese leader Xi Jinping with "dictators".