Applauding the people of India for exercising their right to vote, the White House said yesterday that the country had one of the most “vibrant” democracies in the world.
“Not too many more vibrant democracies in the world than India. And we applaud the Indian people for exercising, you know, their ability to vote, and to have a voice in their future government. And we wish them well throughout the process, of course,” said White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby to reporters at a news conference in Washington DC.
Kirby was responding to a question on the ongoing Indian elections, wherein over 969 million people are exercising their right to franchise at one million polling stations to elect 545 members of parliament from thousands of candidates representing as many as 2,660 registered political parties.
Responding to another question, Kirby said that the India-America relationship had been strengthened under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in particular during the last three years of the Biden administration. “Our relationship with India is extremely close and getting closer,” he said.
“You saw it on a State visit (2023 visit by PM Modi). We launched all kinds of new initiatives, working on critical emerging technologies together, and bolstering and expanding the relevance of the Indo-Pacific quad, of course, which India is a part of. And then, just the people-to-people exchanges, and the military [ties] that we share with India,” Kirby said.
“It’s a very vibrant, very active partnership. We are grateful for Prime Minister Modi’s leadership,” said the White House official.
Asked if US President Joe Biden believed that India and Japan were xenophobic countries, Kirby replied in the negative. He said that the president was recently making a point about the United States itself.
“I mean, the president was making a broader point here about the vibrancy of our own democracy, here in the United States, and how inclusive and participatory it is,” said Kirby.
