UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson who is on a two-day visit to India, thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday for receiving him in a grand welcome a day ago in his home state of Gujarat. He said he felt like cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and actor Amitabh Bachchan upon arriving in Gujarat.
“I thank PM Narendra Modi and the people of India for the grand welcome. I felt like Sachin Tendulkar upon my arrival and also like Amitabh Bachchan when I saw hoardings everywhere,” PM Johnson said while addressing PM Modi as his ‘special friend’.
The UK Prime Minister was received at the Ahmedabad airport by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Governor Acharya Devvrat. He was welcomed by troupes performing traditional Gujarati dances and music in a roadshow that started from the airport and passed through Ashram Road via Dafnala and Riverfront.
Meanwhile, PM Johnson gave many statements on India and UK’s relationship and bilateral defence and security partnership. In his wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the leaders vowed to give fresh momentum to overall ties and reviewed the progress made in the implementation of the Roadmap 2030 that listed ambitious targets for deeper collaborations in diverse sectors.
Talking about Khalistani elements that aim to harm India, PM Johnson said that the UK does not tolerate “extremist groups” and informed that an anti-extremist task force has been set up by India and the UK to address the issue.
“Both these things were raised with us and we have a very strong view on the UK that we don’t tolerate extremist groups setting up in the UK with a view to threatening other countries, threatening India,” Johnson said while responding to a question on India’s concerns about the issue of Khalistani extremists and actions taken against them.
He further elaborated on the steps being taken in order to address extremism including the setting up of an anti-extremist task force.
“What we have done in particular as a result of this visit is set up an anti-extremist task force to see what more we can do to help India in that particular respect,” Johnson said.
Earlier today, in a special press briefing on the British PM’s visit, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla also said that the issue of Khalistani elements was discussed and the British PM assured that there was “zero-tolerance for such people.”
“This point (Khalistani elements) was raised quite clearly, and Prime Minister Johnson took careful note of that. He said that he was very sensitive to our concerns in this regard and that he would have a close look at that. As far as he was concerned, there was zero tolerance for such people who create issues that could impact the relationship between two countries,” Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla informed.
Boris Johnson arrived in New Delhi late on Thursday and earlier today paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at his Samadhi at Raj Ghat.
