Modi seeks terror crackdown, hails diversity in address to U.S. Congress
By Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi, June 23: After stating that democracy is in the DNA and runs in the veins of the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the U.S. Congress struck the diversity in unity note of India. He also called for reviving multilateralism, and a “new world order”.
“India has over 2,500 political parties. About 20 parties govern various states of India. India has 22 official languages and thousands of dialects. Yet India speaks in one voice,” remarked Modi in his address to the U.S. Congress, which was his second in the last nine years. Modi is currently in the U.S. on the first state visit.
Addressing a joint presser, Modi had asserted that Indian democracy has deep roots, and the Constitution enshrines equal access to all citizens without any discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, religion, age, and land mass.
Speaking of the growth of the Indian economy, Modi stated that India from the 10th largest economy a few years ago has now become the 5th largest economy, while being on course to take the spot of the 3rd largest economy soon.
In a veiled reference to Chinese threat to the rules-based order in seeking to change the status quo on the border and also blocking designation of hardened terrorists from their such designations in the United Nations, Modi said “when the world has changed, our institutions too must change or risk getting replaced by a world of rivalries without rules”. Seeking the partnership of the U.S., Modi called for joint efforts to “work for a new world order based on international law”.
China at the behest of Pakistan has consistently been blocking the efforts of the U.S. and India for designation of Pakistani-origin terrorists by the U.N. China has been using the veto power to block the designation of terrorists by the U.N.
“We must revive multilateralism and reform multilateral institutions. This should be done with better resources and representation to all global institutions of governance, especially the U.N.,” said Modi in his address to the U.S. Congress.
“More than two decades after 9/11 and more than a decade after 26/11 in Mumbai, radicalism and terrorism still remain a danger for the whole world,” stressed Modi to call for a strong support of the U.S. for the Indian push for the reforms at the U.N.
“Ideologies keep taking new identity and forms but their intentions are same. Terrorism is an enemy of humanity. There can be no ifs or buts in dealing with it,” added Modi.
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