Referring to the recent telephone conversation between Indian Prime Miister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden, India has said the absence of an aspect in one press release or the other is not evidence of its absence in the conversation itself.
“I am very much aware of the contents of the conversation between the Prime Minister and the President of the United States and I can tell you that our press release is an accurate and faithful record of what transpired in the conversation,” said official spokesperson at the Indian Ministry of External Affairs Randhir Jaiswal while responding to a question.
The MEA spokesperson made the remarks when a journalist drew his attention, noting that they saw the conversation between Prime Minister Modi and the US President Biden; but they also saw “discrepancies” in the readout and absence of certain topics in their readout during a regular briefing in New Delhi on Friday.
Firstly, he said, press releases issued after conversations between leaders are not like joint statements where every word is negotiated and mutually agreed upon.
Secondly, the spokesperson said such press releases are not meant to be comprehensive readouts of such conversations.
Finally, he said it is not unusual for two sides to emphasize different aspects of the same conversation in their respective readouts.
“The subject of Bangladesh, which has been highlighted, as you pointed out, by certain quarters, was very much discussed substantially by both the leaders,” said the MEA spokesperson.
He said they have seen that there have been some comments in that regard. “Let me tell you, these claims are uninformed, tendentious, and motivated and betray a total lack of familiarity with the process of how such contacts between leaders are organized and then followed upon.”
According to the Indian Prime Minister’s office, US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday discussed the situation in Bangladesh. The two leaders stressed the need for early restoration of normalcy and ensuring the safety and security of minorities, especially Hindus, in Bangladesh.
“I reiterated India’s full support for early return of peace and stability,” Modi said. The two leaders expressed their shared concern over the situation in Bangladesh.
The White House, however, avoided Bangladesh issues in its readout, though the Indian side, through their Prime Minister’s Office, had said Biden and Modi discussed the situation in Bangladesh as well as other issues.
