David Cameron has swept aside criticism of his decision to offer a lavish reception for the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, as he hailed his enormous mandate from the people of India.
The British prime minister was speaking at a press conference with his Indian counterpart at the Foreign Office after signing more than £9bn of business deals on the first day of a three-day visit by Modi, who became the first Indian leader since 1984 to win an outright victory in the 2014 general election.
Amid some of the tightest security provided for an overseas visitor, Cameron said he hoped the visit would herald a new and dynamic partnership that would show the UK and India are no longer “imprisoned by the past”.
Police closed off Whitehall and Parliament Square to traffic as a “gold command” security operation was put into operation to protect Modi, who is a highly controversial figure in India, dating back to his time as the chief minister of the state of Gujarat between 2001 and 2014. He was criticised for an allegedly lax response to communal riots in Gujarat in 2002, in which thousands of Muslims died.
As the two leaders met, there were noisy protests in Whitehall and Parliament Square, where Cameron and Modi paid their respects at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi, the father figure of the Indian independence movement. Jeremy Corbyn, who signed a Commons early day motion criticising India’s human rights record, declined to attend an address by Modi to MPs and peers in the royal gallery of the House of Lords.
The prime minister made it clear that he was keen to move on from the past. Britain imposed an informal travel ban on Modi after the Gujarat riots. Cameron said he wanted to focus on Modi’s record as a trailblazer for hi-tech industries in a series of smart cities across India, which will be linked by 10,000km of new roads. Modi announced that a rupee bond is to be issued in London to raise funds for the expansion of the Indian railway system.
Cameron said: “I am pleased to welcome prime minister Modi here. He comes with an enormous mandate from the people of India, who made him prime minister with a record and historic majority. As for what happened in the past, there were legal proceedings, there were also representations from the British government at the time.
“I see this is as a modern, dynamic partnership. It is probably true that for years, the relationship between Britain and India was, in some way, imprisoned by the past. I think sometimes in recent years it’s been imprisoned by misconceptions that trade with India is simply about outsourcing. Look at the relationship today ... One of the most successful car manufacturers in Britain is a combination of Indian capital and British design and manufacturing expertise – Jaguar Land Rover.”
The Indian prime minister insisted that he had not been subject to a travel ban and had visited the UK a year after the riots in Gujarat. “I came here in 2003 and I was welcome at that time. The UK has never stopped me from coming here, they have never banned me from coming here. Perhaps I could not come because of my time constraints. Please do correct this wrong perception,” he said.
Britain had a policy of non-engagement with Modi until 2012. A formal travel ban was not imposed on him, but Britain declined to offer Modi immunity from prosecution, which meant that he could have been held on an international arrest warrant.
Modi rejected criticisms voiced by writers Salman Rushdie, Hari Kunzru and Ian McEwan that there is a “rising climate of fear” in India amid concerns of a rise in fundamentalism. He said: “India is a land of Gandhi and therefore there is something that is deeply entrenched in our culture, our traditions, which is that we are not accepting anything that is having to do with intolerance. Any incident that happens is a serious incident, and we do not tolerate these incidents at all.”
The Indian prime minister briefly found himself at the heart of the debate about Britain’s EU membership when he made supportive remarks about the European Union. “As far as India is concerned, if there is an entry point for us to the EU, that is the UK. Yes, we are going to other European countries as well, but we will continue to consider the UK as our entry point into the EU,” he said.
Will Straw, the executive director of Britain Stronger in Europe, welcomed the remarks, saying Modi had become the latest world leader to say “Britain is stronger, safer, and better off in Europe”.
Paul Stephenson, the communications director for Vote Leave, said: “It is disappointing that Will Straw is distorting the words of the Indian prime minister during an official visit to this country.”
