Right choice for India, China to be friends, Xi tells Modi; says border issue should not define ties
Tianjin (PTI): Chinese President Xi Jinping told Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday that it is the "right choice" for the two countries to be "friends” and they should not let the border dispute define their relations.
The talks between the two leaders took place on the margins of the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) here.
Xi told Modi that the two Asian neighbours should work together to ensure peace and tranquility in their border regions, and should not let the border issue define the overall China-India relations.
India and China are cooperation partners, not rivals, and the two countries are each other's development opportunities rather than threats, Xi said.
As long as the two countries stick to this overarching direction, China-India relations can sustain steady and long-term growth, Xi said.
“It is the right choice for both to be friends who have good neighbourly and amicable ties, partners who enable each other's success, and to have the dragon and the elephant dance together," he said.
The meeting between the two leaders took place against the backdrop of Washington's tariff tussle that has impacted almost all leading economies across the world.
Noting that this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of China-India diplomatic relations, Xi said the two countries need to view and handle bilateral ties from a strategic and long-term perspective to ensure their sustained, sound and steady development.
Xi said China and India should become neighbours on good terms and partners helping each other succeed. A "cooperative pas de deux (dance) of the dragon and the elephant" should be the right choice for the two countries, he said.
He called on New Delhi and Beijing to strengthen strategic communication to deepen mutual trust, expand exchanges and win-win cooperation, heed each other's concerns to seek harmonious coexistence, and enhance multilateral collaboration to safeguard common interests.
We both shoulder the historical responsibility of improving the well-being of our two peoples, promoting the solidarity and rejuvenation of developing countries, and propelling the progress of human society, Xi said.
In an apparent dig at US President Donald Trump's unilateral policies, he also said both countries should uphold multilateralism.
"We must also step up our historic responsibility to uphold multilateralism, work together to bring about a multipolar world and more democracy in international relations and to make our due contributions to peace and prosperity in Asia and around the world," he said.
Xi also told Modi that the world is currently going through once-in-a-century transformations.
The international situation is both fluid and chaotic. China and India are two ancient civilisations in the east, we are the world's two most populous countries, and we are also the oldest members of the Global South, he said.
This was the first meeting of the two leaders in about ten months and it assumed significance in view of a sudden downturn in India-US ties triggered by Washington's policies on trade and tariffs.
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Ex-PM Devegowda warns opposition of electoral losses if they continue to allege 'vote chori'
New Delhi (PTI): Former Prime Minister H D Devegowda on Monday said the Opposition parties would "suffer" if they continue to raise allegations of "vote chori" and create suspicion in the minds of voters by blaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government.
Participating in a discussion on election reforms in the Rajya Sabha, he criticised the Opposition for making a mockery about the Prime Minister "in the streets and on the public platform".
"This (India) is a very big country. A large country. Congress may be in three states. Remember my friends please, by using the words 'vote chori' you are going to suffer in the coming days. You are not going to win the battle," Devegowda said, referring to the Opposition members.
He asked what the Opposition is going to earn by "blaming Narendra Modi's leadership and creating a suspicion in the mind of the voters" through the claims of "vote chori".
"What has happened to their minds? Let them rectify," Devegowda said.
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The former prime minister said that during his over seven decades of public life, he has never raised such issues of vote theft despite facing defeat in elections.
He also cited a letter written by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru regarding inclusion of "18,000 votes" (voters) in Kerala.
"Why I am telling this (because) during the Nehru period also, there were certain lapses in the electoral system," said Devegowda, who was the prime minister between June 1, 1996 and April 21, 1997.
He said that the Congress party faced defeat in the recent Bihar elections despite raising the issues of mistakes in the electoral rolls.
"What happened after that even after so much review (of voters list). Think (for) yourself! You got six MLAs," the senior Janata Dal (Secular) leader said.
Devegowda questioned the Opposition as to why they want to make allegations against the prime minister on the issue of the voters list?
"Election Commission is there. Supreme Court is there. The Election Commission has given direction to all the state units to rectify all these things," he said.
Devegowda said people of the country have full confidence in Narendra Modi's government and it will come back to power after the next Lok Sabha elections as well.
K R Suresh Reddy, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) party's Rajya Sabha member from Telangana, said that electoral reforms are the backbone for a healthy democracy.
He said a large and diverse nation like Indi needs clean electoral rolls.
Asserting that strict re-verification should not become a mechanism for exclusion, Reddy said no eligible voter should lose their right to vote simply because accessing paperwork is difficult.
He said while the concern definitely is on the voters' exclusion, "we should also be equally concerned about the percentage of voting."
"What is happening in voting today? Once the election ends, the drama begins. The biggest challenge that the Indian democracy has been facing in spite of two major Constitutional amendments has been the anti-defection. Anti-defection is the name of the game today, especially in smaller states, especially where the legislatures are small in number," Reddy said.
The senior BRS leader suggested creation of a parliamentary committee "which would constantly look into the defection" and "ways and means to cutting that".
AIADMK's M Thambidurai raised the issues related to election campaigning.
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"Election campaigns are one of the important election processes. In that, political parties must be given the proper chance to campaign," he said and cited problems faced by his party in Tamil Nadu in this regard.
Thambidurai said political parties were facing hardships in Tamil Nadu to conduct public meetings and to express their views to the public.
YSRCP's Yerram Venkata Subba Reddy stressed on bringing electoral reforms at both the state and national levels.
He also suggested replacing Electronic Voting Machines with paper ballots in all future elections.
"EVM may be efficient but can't be trusted. Paper ballot may not be efficient but can be trusted. You need trust in democracy," Reddy added.
