Democracy in our veins, no discrimination against minorities: Modi

Asserting that democracy is "in our spirit...and flows in our veins", Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said there is no question of discrimination in India on the grounds of caste or religion because his government follows the Constitution, which is formed on the basic values of democracy.

Responding to a question at a joint press conference with US President Joe Biden after their comprehensive deliberations, Modi also strongly defended India's record on democracy and his government's performance and human rights, saying that the basic foundation stone of his government has been 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas' which means together for everyone's growth, with everyone's trust.

"India is a democracy. And as President Biden said democracy is in the DNA of both India and America. Democracy is in our spirit. Democracy flows in our veins. We live democracy. Our forefathers moulded it in words, which we call the Constitution. Our government runs on the fundamental principles of this Constitution. We have proved that democracy can deliver. When I say deliver it means there is no place for discrimination on the grounds of caste, creed, gender, religion,” Modi said.

He was responding to a question about the steps taken by his government to improve the rights of minorities in India and uphold free speech.

"When you talk of democracy, if there are no human values and there is no humanity, there are no human rights then that is not a democracy at all. So when you talk about democracy and you accept democracy and when we live democracy, then there is absolutely no space for discrimination,” the Prime Minister asserted.

"That is why India believes in moving ahead with 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas'. These are our foundation principles, which are the basis of how we operate and how we live our lives in India. The benefits that are provided by the government are accessible to all whoever deserves those benefits is available to everybody," the prime minister said.

"That is why in India's democratic values there is absolutely no discrimination neither on the basis of caste creed or age or any kind of geographic location,” Modi said.

On climate change, Modi said India is the only G20 country that has fulfilled all the promises it made in Paris on climate change and asserted that India will not only fulfil its responsibilities but will also help others including the US in this critical area.

The Prime Minister was referring to obligations under the 2015 Paris Agreement.

“As far as India is concerned, the environment, and climate, are extremely important in our cultural traditions for us. The environment is an article of faith. This is not just something that we need to do for convenience. We believe this. We do not believe in the exploitation of nature.,” Modi said in response to a question by PTI at a joint news conference with President Joe Biden in the East Room of the White House.

“In order for all of creation to work, we can make nature -- we cannot have exploitation of nature and we have always believed this," he said.

And on the basis of these values, India is not only doing things for itself but is taking some global initiatives as well, he said.

“You perhaps know that of the G20 countries, the promises they made in Paris, of all the G20 countries, India is the only country that has fulfilled all the promises it made at the G20. Not just that, in the area of solar energy in Glasgow, we have set ourselves a target to achieve 500GW of renewable energy by 2030,” Modi said.

India has set itself the target to make Indian Railways net zero.

“And you must understand the scale of Indian Railways. When we talk about Indian Railways, it means that every day the entire population of Australia travels in wagons on our trains. And we have set ourselves the target to achieve net zero for our railways," Prime Minister Modi said.

"We have also set ourselves targets for solar energy for ethanol, a 10 per cent mix of ethanol. We have completed this target before the set date,” the prime minister asserted.

India is also working in the area of green hydrogen, he said.

“We want India to be a green hydrogen hub and we are working towards this. International Solar Alliance has been launched by India and many countries have joined it and are working with India,” he said.

“We will not only fulfil our responsibilities, but we will also help you in the area of climate change… There is a lot of destruction of infrastructure as well and therefore because of climate change, the kind of crisis we are feeling we need to develop infrastructure that is resilient,” he said.

President Biden said climate change is an existential threat to humanity.

“It's the most serious problem we face as human beings. We have to keep it below 1.5 degrees Celsius. We've made enormous progress here in the United States in dealing with this issue by doing three things. Number one, by insisting that we move every one of our industries into a position where they can take advantage of cheaper and more extensive and more available renewable energy,” he said.

“Whether it's solar or wind or hydrogen and green hydrogen. There's a whole range of things we've been working on. In addition to that, we find ourselves in a position where what we've done is that we have significantly reduced for example, I made a commitment that we are going to make sure that by 2030, 30 per cent of all our land and sea and oceans, were in conservation, could not be developed,” he said.

The US is well on its way to doing that and that's also absorbing carbon from the air as a consequence of that because of conservation, Biden said.

"We are in a position...we have provided for a significant increase in funding for a whole range of issues, not just for the United States but for the rest of the world,” said the president.

“We're trying to work with other countries to maintain their carbon sinks so they don't have to develop them like we did and causing pollution. And we're trying to figure out how to work out to pay them not to develop certain areas like the Amazon and Brazil. But there's a lot of technology that's available that we're sharing and we share with one another,” he said.

“We've learned how to do solar energy, which is considerably cheaper than fossil fuels. The same way dealing with not just solar but dealing with wind. So there's a lot of technology that we've developed and we're well on our way to meeting the commitment we made in Paris,” Biden said.

Modi said that India and the US, the two biggest democracies of the world, can contribute towards global peace, stability and prosperity as he asserted that for the partnership between the two countries, "even the sky is not the limit".

"For the partnership between India and the US, even the sky is not the limit. The most important pillar of our relations is our people-to-people ties. More than 40 lakh people of Indian origin are contributing to the development of America," Modi said.

The Prime Minister said that the two biggest democracies of the world, India and the US, can contribute towards global peace, stability and prosperity. "I'm sure that on the basis of these values, we can fulfil the aspirations of the world," he added.

"Today holds a special significance in the history of India-US relations. Today's discussions and important decisions taken by us open a new chapter in our Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership," he said.

Modi said that India and America are walking shoulder-to-shoulder in the fight against terrorism and radicalism.

He said that during his talks with President Biden, the two sides have agreed that concerted action is necessary to end cross border terrorism, in a veiled reference to Pakistan.

The Prime Minister said that peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region is our shared priority. "We are unanimous that the development and success of this region is important for the whole world," he added, amid China's aggressive behaviour in the strategic region.

"We have also decided that like trusted partners the US and India will prepare a reliable, secure, resilient global supply chain and value chain, amid global uncertainties," Modi said.

Noting that the countries in the Global South have been particularly hard hit by the Covid pandemic and the Ukraine conflict, the prime minister said it is essential for all countries to unite to solve these problems. "We are fully prepared to contribute in whatever way we can to the restoration of peace," Modi said.

On the decision to build engines by General Electrics through technology transfer, he said it is a landmark agreement and it will open new opportunities for jobs in both countries. "It will be a new dimension to our defence partnership in the future."

Modi said the US-India partnership in trade and investment is not only important for both countries but also for the global economy. "Today, the US is the biggest trade partner of India. We have decided to give closure to pending issues related to trade and begin a new start," he said.

He said that during his talks with Biden both sides agreed that governments, businesses and academic institutions should come together to fulfil our strategic technology partnership.

Modi said he was deeply touched by the warm and gracious welcome at the White House and was looking forward to fostering even deeper ties and mutual cooperation in the times to come.

"The presence of such a large number of Indians in the White House is testimony to the fact that Indian-Americans are the real strength of our relationship," he said, referring to the presence of a huge gathering of Indian-Americans in South Lawn.

He welcomed the decision by the US to open consulates in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad to further deepen these ties.

On his part, Biden said the partnership between the US and India is "among most consequential in world that is stronger, closer and more dynamic in any time in history."

Biden underscored how the two countries were cooperating on issues such as the climate, health care and space, saying "together, we are unlocking shared future of world what I believed to be unlimited potential."

The day began with President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden greeting Prime Minister Modi for the Official Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn. The two national anthems were played along with a 21-gun salute to the visiting leader.