India is outraged that a US State Department representative made a remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi while supporting the immunity granted to Saudi Arabian king Mohammad bin Sultan, who is accused of killing journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said “Frankly, I fail to understand how the comment on Prime Minister Modi was either relevant, necessary or contextual,” by responding to questions about a US official referring to Modi while explaining the reasons for granting immunity to the Saudi ruler.
“Our two countries enjoy a very special relationship which is growing from strength to strength and we look forward to working with the US to further deepen it,” he said, referring to the bilateral ties between India and the US.
According to reports, US State Department principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel stated in a briefing that the US has granted immunity to a number of heads of state in the past, including PM Modi, when asked about the Saudi Crown Prince's killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Bagchi also said reports about the prime minister’s visit to the US in December were incorrect. “No proposal for a visit by the Prime Minister to the US in December has been made by our side. Media reports in this regard are incorrect,” Bagchi said.
Additionally, he denied "false comments" made on social media about the recent bilateral meeting between PM Modi and US President Joe Biden on the fringes of the G-20 summit in Bali, which were attributed to White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
“We have seen some incorrect social media posts which attribute false statements to the External Affairs Minister, who has not made any comment on this to the press or on social media. It also attributes false statements to the White House press secretary. So, I would request you all not to lend credence to such incorrect information,” Bagchi said.
