INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
NEW DELHI: The White House on Tuesday said that India is a vibrant democracy and that anybody who visits New Delhi can see that for
themselves."India is a vibrant democracy
Anybody that, you know, happens to go to New Delhi can see that for themselves
And certainly, I would expect that strength and health of democratic institutions will be part of the discussion," John Kirby, Coordinator
for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House told reporters.Kirby's statement comes ahead of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to the US later this month."Look, we never shy away
And you can do that with friends
You're supposed to do that with friends
You never shy away from expressing concerns that we might have with anyone around the world
But this (State) visit is really about advancing what is now and what we hope will be a deeper, stronger partnership and friendship going
forward," Kirby said.Kirby further said that US President Joe Biden is looking forward to having Prime Minister Modi to talk about various
issues and to advance and deepen their partnership and friendship.Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been invited to address a joint meeting
of the US House of Representatives and Senate on June 22 during his state visit, the leaders of the US Congress said on Friday
This is one of the highest honors Washington affords to foreign dignitaries.This will be Modi's sixth visit to the US since taking over as
The two leaders are also expected to meet at the G7 and Quad summit meetings later this month in Hiroshima and Sydney respectively.The last
Indian PM to travel to the US for a state visit was Manmohan Singh in 2009, when he was hosted by then president Barack Obama.The invitation
to the Indian Prime Minister comes amid withering criticism from Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi during his ongoing tour of US of PM
Modi's purported authoritarianism, an assessment the US establishment does not appear to share despite occasional disapproval of strongarm
majoritarianism.WatchIndia is a vibrant democracy, go to Delhi and see for yourself: White House
