"We celebrate the largest exercise of electoral franchise in history": US on Lok Sabha polls
Jun 14, 2024
Washington, DC [US], June 14 : Refraining from commenting on the results of Lok Sabha polls, the United States has said that electoral matters are for the Indian people to decide and the US "celebrate the election that happened in India."
"The electoral matters are matters for the Indian people to decide. We celebrate the election that happened in India; it was the largest exercise of electoral franchise in any country anytime in history," the State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a regular press briefing on Thursday.
"But for specific results of that election, it's just not something we comment on," Miller added.
His response came after a Pakistani reporter asked his reaction claiming,"Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to turn India into a Hindu state, resulting in other religions not feeling secure."
Narendra Modi took oath as Prime Minister of India for his third successive term on Sunday at an impressive ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan which was attended by leaders from India's neighbourhood and Indian Ocean region.
BJP-led NDA won a majority for the third time in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, winning 293 seats. BJP won 240 seats on its own, in the 543-member lower house, where the majority mark stands at 272.
Notably, PM Modi is only the third leader after Jawaharlal Nehru to take oath as PM for a third consecutive time.
