Vice President Venkaiah Naidu has slammed ‘western media’ for their negative portrayal of India on the issue of poor press freedom, freedom of expression and secularism. Naidu said that some members of the western media were suffering from the problem of ‘indigestion.’
Naidu said, “We are seeing a trend, particularly in the western media. They are not able to digest the fact that India is on the move. India is on the rise. India is being recognised and respected once again worldwide, which was known as wishvaguru (world leader).”
He added, “They try to portray India in a negative light. This has been going on. As I told you they don’t digest our eminence and they want to run down the country. Some of them are suffering from the problem of indigestion.”
“They run down our country on freedom of expression, freedom of the press and also on the issue of secularism. India, according to my own study, is the most secular and real country,” Naidu continued.
#WATCH | There's a trend in Western media to run down Indian govt on issues of secularism, free speech. They can't digest the fact that India is on the rise. Some of them suffering from indigestion…India is the most secular country in world: Vice President Venkaiah Naidu(26.11) pic.twitter.com/sXTrfWA52T
— ANI (@ANI) November 26, 2021
Naidu recognised that there were ‘incidents here and there’ but added that the country remained secular. He said, “There are instances of individuals here and there… but as a whole, we practice secularism because it’s in the blood, nerves and veins of Indians not because of this government or that government…Respecting all religions is our age-old practice.”
India’s poor human rights record under Narendra Modi has been globally recognised. Not too long ago, Reporters Without Borders had released a list of what it said were ‘predators of press freedom’ from around the world. Also featuring in the ‘predators gallery.’ was Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
It had said, “The RSF said that ‘Indians who espouse Hindutva, the ideology that gave rise to radical right-wing Hindu nationalism, are trying to purge all manifestations of “anti-national” thought from the public debate.”