"India, America have democracy in our DNA...no question of discrimination," PM Modi at joint presser with President Biden
Jun 22, 2023
Washington DC [US], June 23 : Noting that India and the US have democracy in their DNA, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said there is no question of discrimination on the grounds of caste, creed or religion and his government works by the mantra of 'sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas, sabka prayaas'.
Responding to a question during a joint press conference with US President Joe Biden, PM Modi said democracy is India's spirit, in the veins of its people and they live democracy in their daily lives.
"We are a democracy and as President Biden said India and America both have democracy in our DNA. Democracy is in our spirit and we live it and it's written in our Constitution...So no question of discrimination on the grounds of caste, creed or religion arises," PM Modi said when asked about measures the government is willing to take to improve the rights of minorities in the country.
PM Modi said that the government works according to the constitution formulated on the basis of basic democratic values.
"Democracy is our spirit, it is in our veins, we live democracy and our ancestors gave it the shape of the Constitution. Our government works according to the Constitution. We have proved that democracy can deliver," PM Modi said.
"When I say democracy can deliver, there is no scope of discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, religion, gender. When we talk of democracy, if there are no human values, no humanity, no human rights, then it is not democracy. And when you talk of democracy, accept democracy and when we live democracy, there is no scope of discrimination. We go by the principles of 'sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas, sabka prayaas' . There is access for all to benefits provided by the government. There is no discrimination in India's democratic values on the basis of religion, caste, age, geography," he added.
Answering a question related to the environmental protection, he said as far as India is concerned, the environment and climate "have an essential place in our culture and tradition".
The Prime Minister said India is the only G20 country in the world that kept the promise it took in Paris to protect the environment
"Environment is an article of faith for us. We do not believe in the exploitation of nature. India not only works to protect its own environment but also works for protecting the world. We are taking global initiatives for the same. India is the only G20 country in the world that kept the promise it took in Paris to protect the environment," he said.
"We have launched an international solar alliance for the world and today several countries in the world are working with us. We are seeing that due to natural calamities, there is a huge loss to the infrastructure. We care about our future generations, so we are taking a global responsibility to support the world in the crisis of climate change," he added.