Religious freedom as important as freedom of rights: Haley
New Delhi, June 27: US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said on Wednesday that religious freedom is as important as the freedom of rights and of people.
The highest ranking American of Indian origin in US President Donald Trump's administration, Haley said there were multiple opportunities between the US and India including in counter-terrorism or military cooperation.
Haley, who is on a visit from June 26-28, said her visit was aimed "at once again solidifying" love for India and there were more and more reasons for the two countries to come together.
The US envoy said she looks forward to the inter-faith tour on Thursday. "I look forward to the inter-faith tour we are going to take tomorrow because we think freedom of religion is just as important as freedom of rights and freedom of people."
She said both India and the US share common values and have a lot in common.
"We look to the fact that we are two of the oldest democracies that share the value of people, the values of freedom, the values of opportunity. We see there are opportunities between the US and India in multiple levels.
"Whether it is countering terrorism, whether it is the fact that we want to continue our democratic opportunities, or start to work together more strongly on the military aspect, there are lots of things that India and the US have in common," she said as she visited Humayun's Tomb earlier in the day.
Haley said the US was keen to further strengthen its relationship with India.
"I am here to once again solidify our love for India, our belief in the friendship that India and the US have and our willingness to make that relation even stronger. In this day and time we see more and more reasons for India and the US to come together."
She added: "It is great to be back." The US envoy was on her first visit to India after becoming US ambassador to the UN.
The daughter of Sikh immigrants from Punjab, Haley last visited India in 2014.
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Rape convict Gurmeet Singh granted 21-day furlough by Haryana Government
Chandigarh: Dera Sacha Sauda chief and rape convict Gurmeet Singh was released on Wednesday morning after the Haryana Government granted him a 21-day furlough. He is currently serving a 20-year sentence for raping two of his disciples and is lodged at Sunaria Jail in Rohtak.
This is reportedly the 13th time since October 2020 that Gurmeet Singh has been granted parole or furlough. According to The Times of India, he has been out of jail for a total of 142 days since January 20 last year under the BJP-led government in Haryana.
Earlier this year, just ahead of the Delhi Assembly Elections, the Dera chief was granted a 30-day parole. In February, the Supreme Court declined to entertain a plea by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) challenging his repeated temporary releases. The apex court bench, comprising Justices B R Gavai and Prashant Kumar Mishra, disposed of the petition noting objections regarding its maintainability.
Gurmeet Singh, whose Dera has a significant following in Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and other states, continues to face trial in sacrilege cases pending before a Chandigarh court. In Haryana, districts like Sirsa, Fatehabad, Kurukshetra, Kaithal and Hisar are known to have a large number of Dera followers.
