Religious freedom as important as freedom of rights: Nikki Haley

Agencies

June 27, 2018

New Delhi, Jun 27: United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley said freedom of religion is as important as freedom of rights.

Haley, who is in India from June 26-28, said she looks forward to the inter-faith tour she will be taking 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," Haley said.

The US Ambassador to the UN also said the major focus of her visit to India is to strengthen the relation between Washington and New Delhi.

"On this trip to India, we have got a lot packed into a short amount of time. But it really comes down to the strength of the United States and India partnership," the US envoy said, on the sidelines of her visit to Humayun's Tomb here.

Haley further said she aims at exploring multiple ways to take India-US opportunities forward.

"Whether it is counter-terrorism or better ways to work together more strongly on the military aspect, there are lots of things that India and the US have in common," she said.

She further asserted that her visit to India is to solidify the US' love for the country, belief in the friendship the two countries share and the willingness to make that relationship even stronger.

The 46-year-old diplomat, who is the highest ranking Indian-American in US President Donald Trump's administration, will meet senior Indian Government officials, NGO leaders among others and discuss a host of topics including India-US strategic ties and significant global developments.

Her visit comes few days after several Indians were detained at Oregon and New Mexico for illegally entering the US as part of Trump's Zero Tolerance Policy.

Haley's visit will be followed by a 2+2 dialogue between the US and India on July 6. It will be attended by the US Department of State, US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James Mattis will host Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for the dialogue.

They are expected to discuss bilateral defence and security cooperation.

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Manipur CM is mastermind behind violence; Centre lied in Supreme Court: Kuki MLAs

News Network

November 11,2024

The Manipur Kuki MLAs have released a statement calling out Solicitor General Tushar Mehta's 'lies' in the Supreme Court. In a joint statement, the MLAs, including those from the Bharatiya Janata Party, said they had not had any meeting with the Chief Minister since May 3, 2023, nor did they intend to meet him in the future as “he was the mastermind behind the violence”.

As per the MLAs, the SG lied about state CM N Biren Singh speaking to Kuki MLAs to control the situation there, in order to halt a Supreme Court probe into the leaked tapes which allege that Singh has been complicit in the violence that broke out between Kukis and Meitis there.

"We...clarify that we have never had any meeting with Chief Minister, Shri N. Biren Singh since May 3, 2023, nor have any intention to meet him in future as he is the mastermind behind the violence and ethnic cleansing of our people from the Imphal valley, which is continuing till today, the latest being the brutal killing and burning of Mrs Zosangkim Hmar on November 7, 2024," the letter read, while condemning the recent 'barbaric' killing of the woman there, and noting the SG's assertion is 'tantamount' to misleading the top court.

“We, the undersigned ten MLAs, have come to know that during the Supreme Court hearing held on November 8, 2024, the Solicitor General of India submitted that ‘CM is meeting all Kuki MLAs and trying to bring the situation down to get peace’. In this connection, we hereby categorically state that this submission is a blatant lie and tantamount to misleading the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India,” the statement said.

The Supreme Court, while hearing a petition by a Kuki organisation, asked that it submit audio tapes to substantiate its claim that the Chief Minister was instrumental in inciting and organising violence in the northeastern State.

Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta orally informed the court that the Chief Minister was meeting all the Kuki-Zo MLAs and that peace in the State had come at a huge cost.

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