IANS/London
Without naming Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday said countries promoting terrorism must be isolated.
Addressing the media along with his British counterpart David Cameron, Modi said terrorism was not a matter confronting just two or three countries.
He said terrorism had spread so much today that it respected no borders.
“Daily there is a new terrorist group, daily they get new weapons. Surely, the terrorists don’t manufacture these weapons.”
Modi said humanity had to unite against terrorism and “those who promote terrorism should be isolated”.
India has consistently accused Pakistan of promoting terrorism on Indian soil.
Cameron said he and Modi would have “intense discussions” today on the issue of terrorism.
“India has suffered on the streets of Mumbai, and we have suffered on the streets of London.”
He said it was not just a question of closing down terrorist camps or the space they occupy. The world also needed to deal with the narrative of the terrorists.
- Cameron said he viewed Modi as a leader who had “an enormous mandate from the people of India”.
Asked how he felt about hosting the prime minister in view of the 2002 Gujarat riots when Modi was the chief minister, Cameron told a joint press conference that he was pleased to welcome the Indian leader.
“He comes with an enormous mandate from the people of India... with a historic (parliamentary) majority,” Cameron said.
He said there had been legal proceedings related to the Gujarat violence but that was in the past, and that he and Modi were discussing the future partnership between India and Britain.
On his part, Modi said he had visited Britain in 2003, a year after the Gujarat riots, and that he got a very good reception even then.
“UK has never stopped me from coming here,” he said, in response to a question. “I want to make that clear. That I could not come after 2003 is another matter.”
- India will never tolerate intolerance, Modi said.
Asked about sectarian strife in India, Modi said the Indian authorities will “take strict action against those who indulge in such (violent) acts”.
“India will not tolerate intolerance,” he said, adding that India was the land of Lord Buddha and Mahatma Gandhi.
“We are a democracy and committed to freedom of speech,” he said. “We are not an intolerant society.”
- In New Delhi, the Congress Party said Modi must take up with Cameron the issue of deporting former IPL chief Lalit Modi to India.
“The Congress hopes and demands that the prime minister takes up the issue of deporting the proclaimed criminal and fugitive of Indian law, Lalit Modi, with his British counterpart and ensures his deportation to India at the earliest,” Congress spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala said.
Modi supporters stage a rally welcoming the prime minister (left) while anti-Modi demonstrators shout slogans opposite Downing Street.
