In a veiled reference to Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday there should be a global resolve to “isolate” those who harbour terrorists and a willingness to stand with nations that will fight them “honestly”.
Addressing MPs in British Parliament’s Royal Gallery, Modi, the first Indian Prime Minister to do so, said the world must speak in one voice and act in unison to combat terrorism, calling it a “challenge of our times.”
Dwelling on terrorism among other subjects during his 25-minute speech, Modi who was greeted with a standing ovation when he entered the House of Commons, said there should be no distinction between terrorist groups or discrimination between nations.
“There should be a resolve to isolate those who harbour terrorists and a willingness to stand with nations that will fight them honestly. And, we need a social movement against extremism in countries where it is most prevalent and must make every effort to delink religion and terrorism,” he said.
“The world must speak in one voice and act in unison to combat this challenge of our times,” Modi said while stating that terrorism and extremism are a global force that is larger than their changing names, groups, territories and targets.
“We must adopt a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism in the UN without delay. There should be no distinction between terrorist groups or discrimination between nations,” he said.
On the situation in the Indian sub-continent, Modi said India wants an Afghanistan that is shaped by the dreams of the great Afghan people, not by “irrational fears and overreaching ambitions” of others.
Modi told the British parliamentarians: “We are living in a world where instability in a distant region quickly reaches our doorsteps and that we see this in the challenges of radicalisation and refugees. The fault lines are shifting from the boundaries of nations into the web of our societies and the streets of our cities.”
Stating that he was truly honoured to speak in the British Parliament, Modi said even in this globalised world, london is still the standard for our times.
On domestic issues, Modi said federalism is no longer the fault line of Centre-State relations, but the definition of a new partnership of Team India.
“Citizens now have the ease of trust, not the burden of proof and process. Businesses find an environment that is open and easy to work in,” he said.
“If you visit India, you will experience the wind of change,” he told his audience.
“And, the motto of Sab Ka Saath, Sab Ka Vikas, is our vision of a nation, in which every citizen belongs, participates and prospers,” Modi said.
Modi also cited his predecessors Jawaharlal Nehru and Manmohan Singh in his historic address to the joint session of the British Parliament.
“Many freedom fighters of India found their calling in the institutions of Britain. And many makers of modern India, including several of my distinguished predecessors from Jawaharlal Nehru and Manmohan Singh, passed through their doors,” he said amid criticism from the Opposition that Modi in his speeches ignored the legacy of Nehru and the Congress party in India’s progress.
“There are many things on which it is hard to tell anymore if they are British or Indian: The Jaguar or the Scotland Yard, for example. The Brooke Bond tea or my friend late lord Ghulam Nun’s curry,” he said.
“On the way to this event, Prime Minister (David) Cameron and I paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi outside the Parliament. I was reminded of a question I was asked on a tour abroad. How is it that the statue of Gandhi stands outside the British ParliamentIJ
“To that question, my answer is: The British are wise enough to recognise his greatness; Indians are generous enough to share him; we are both fortunate enough to have been touched by his life and mission; and, we are both smart enough to use the strengths of our connected histories to power the future of our relationship,” he said.
“At the heart of london, in the middle of Parliament Square, Bapu is immortalised. The 2 PMs (Modi and Cameron) pay homage to the Mahatma,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesman Vikas Swarup tweeted as Modi for the first time saw the statue near the British Parliament and paid tributes to the Father of Nation.
Modi left the British MPs and their peers in splits a few times during his address as he entwined his speech with humour invoking David Beckham to Bhangra rap.
Thanking the UK Parliament Speaker John Bercow for opening the doors to him, Modi left the House cracking as he said, “I know that the Parliament is not in Session. Prime Minister Cameron looks relaxed and relieved”.
He went on to remind Prime Minister Cameron the slogan - “Phir ek baar, Cameron Sarkar’, used by him in the British elections earlier this year.
“I want to remind you, Mr. Prime Minister, that you owe me royalty for an election slogan,” he said. The Prime Minister said the strongest debates are whether the lord’s pitch swings unfairly or the wicket at Eden Gardens cracks too early.
“And, we love the Bhangra rap from london just as you like the English novel from India,” he said.
Noting that he will be visiting Wembley, which has the iconic football ground where he will be addressing Indian diaspora, Modi said, “Even in India, every young footballer wants to bend it like Beckham”.