WASHINGTON: Through his active diplomatic efforts in the last one year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is signalling that India will be a player on the global stage for years to come, according to a top American diplomat.
"In foreign policy India has been on the move. In the past year the Prime Minister has reached out not just to the United States, but has visited over 18 countries and 33 cities," US Ambassador to India Richard Rahul Verma has said.
"He (Modi) is signalling that India will be a player on the global stage for years to come and we welcome and support that global leadership role - politically, economically and in global institutions," Verma said at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a top American think-tank.
Within the region, Modi has reached out to leaders from Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka. He successfully finalised a historic land boundary agreement with Bangladesh, he said.
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Kejriwal attacks Modi, says he is no Rahul Gandhi -NDTV--06.06.2015
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday described Narendra Modi as "not a good prime minister", and said he cannot be compared with Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi.
In an interview to NDTV, Kejriwal told that Modi was using Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung to create obstacles for his Aam Aadmi Party government to avenge the BJP's rout in the February elections in Delhi.
"He (Modi) is taking revenge against the people and the Aam Aadmi Party because of the loss (in Delhi)... He cannot be a good prime minister," Kejriwal said.
Admitting that people had voted for Modi nationally and for the AAP in Delhi, Kejriwal said: "He (Modi) should run the country and let us run Delhi."
The AAP leader, who led his party to a sweeping win, accused Jung of behaving like a "polling agent" of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
"The Lt. Governor's house has become the second headquarters of the BJP."
Jung and Kejriwal's government have been locked in a bitter row over administrative issues in the Delhi administration, with the Lt. Governor asserting his authority in select areas.
The chief minister said Jung does not respond to telephone calls of Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.
"Manish calls him, many times, but his phone is never answered. If the watchman of (BJP president) Amit Shah calls him, he will go crawling," the chief minister said, using unusually strong words.
Suggesting that he was a mass leader, Kejriwal said the BJP leadership must realise that he was not a Rahul Gandhi.
"Narendra Modi ji must realise that I am not Rahul Gandhi," he said. Asked what he meant by that, Kejriwal smiled and said after a pause: "The message I wanted to convey has been conveyed."
The chief minister also made light of reports that the central government could stop the salaries of Delhi government officials.
"Let them do it if they can," he said, adding the AAP government was not beholden to the central home ministry, to which the Lt. Governor reports.
On his first visit as PM, Narendra Modi will exchange instruments of ratification of the land boundary agreement with Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina bringing to close a 40-year-old problem between the two countries. Stay with us for live updates.
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