(Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi broadly defended Indian democracy when pressed on religious intolerance and freedom of speech in a rare instance of taking questions from reporters.
Modi, following a meeting with US President Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday, said he was "really surprised" to hear India's commitment to democratic values questioned by Americans.
"In both countries, democracy is in our DNA," Modi said. "We live democracy, and our ancestors have actually put words to this concept, and that is in the form of our Constitution"
He added, "Regardless of caste, creed, religion, gender, there's absolutely no space for discrimination."
Modi's high-profile visit to the White House, which includes a formal state dinner, has been dominated by talk of US-India strategic convergence on geopolitical, economic and defense issues. But the lavish reception has led to criticism that the Biden team, which has long emphasized human rights in foreign policy, is ignoring Modi's controversial track record.
Pressed on that question Thursday, Biden said he and Modi - who has rarely participated in press conferences during his nine years ruling the world's largest democracy - had "a good discussion about democratic values."
Both countries "cherish freedom and celebrate the democratic values of universal human rights, which face challenges around the world" but which "remains so vital to the success of each of our nations - press freedom, religious freedom, tolerance, diversity," Biden said.
Although Modi has won two federal elections, critics and human rights organizations say he's weakened democratic institutions and led crackdowns on the media, civil society groups and the political opposition. They also accuse his ruling Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, of fueling religious intolerance against India's religious minorities, including Muslims.
The Biden administration has decided to largely remain publicly quiet on India's democratic backsliding and human rights situation, according to senior US officials, as the US intensifies efforts to keep New Delhi on its side in its growing rivalry with China.
The approach is an example of how Biden's focus on human rights - and his framing of a global conflict between democracies and autocracies - has run up against the strategic realities of a world where rivals such as China and Russia are vying for greater control.
The contrast is even greater since Biden called Chinese President Xi Jinping a dictator at a fundraiser this week, on the heels of Secretary of State Antony Blinken's trip there to try to improve relations.
Under Modi's administration, "respect for civil and political rights has markedly deteriorated," the group Human Rights Watch said in a statement ahead of Modi's visit. The group said that "civil society advocates, journalists, and human rights defenders critical of the government" faced persecution and that BJP supporters have "increasingly committed violent attacks against targeted groups," including Muslims and other religious minorities.
--With assistance from Justin Sink.
(Updates with additional Modi comment, details starting in fourth paragraph)
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