(NewsNation) — With an intended focus on boosting the trade and security relationship between the U.S. and India, President Joe Biden welcomed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the White House on Thursday.
“I’ve long believed that the relationship between the United States and India will be one of the defining relationships of the 21st century,” Biden said from the podium on the South Lawn. “Two proud nations whose love of freedom secured our independence, bound by the same words in our Constitution — the first three words — ‘We the People.’”
Modi, who is the third foreign leader Biden has hosted for a state visit, said that the partnership between India and the United States will be “instrumental in enhancing the strength of the whole world.” India has a population of around 1.4 billion people and continues to become an economic powerhouse.
Yet the visit was plagued with concerns over India’s human rights record, coming under scrutiny in recent years over a litany of abuses including the treatment of Muslims and media censorship.
Biden sought to underscore the issue at the start of bilateral talks with Modi in the Oval Office saying he wanted to build a future together that is “grounded on democracy, human rights, freedom and the rule of law.”
Modi, who answered his first question in a news conference since taking office in 2014, defended his government’s performance on human rights.
“Regardless of caste, creed, religion and gender, there is absolutely no space for discrimination,” Modi said through an interpreter, standing alongside Biden. “When you talk of democracy, if there are no human values and there is no humanity, there are no human rights, then it’s not a democracy.”
Modi appeared on Capitol Hill to address a joint meeting of Congress. While he was greeted by a standing ovation by some lawmakers, about a half-dozen Democrats boycotted Modi’s speech in protest of India’s human rights record.
“When it comes to standing up for human rights, actions speak louder than words,” Reps. Cori Bush, D-Miss., Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich,, Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., said in a joint statement. “By bestowing Prime Minister Modi with the rare honor of a joint address, Congress undermines its ability to be a credible advocate for the rights of religious minorities and journalists around the world.”
Ahead of the visit, more than 70 Democrats addressed Biden in an official letter, raising concerns about last year’s release of the U.S. State Department’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. The report highlighted “significant human rights issues” in India, including credible reports of unlawful killings, restrictions on freedom of expression and media, restrictions on internet freedom and serious government corruption.
The White House expects around 400 guests for the state dinner Thursday night, where staff will be serving a vegetarian menu specially for the Indian prime minister.