PM: Any talk of amending Constitution meaningless

Indian society has no feeling of discrimination towards any religious minority, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said, dismissing any speculation about amending the Constitution and brushing aside allegations that his government was cracking down on critics and civil society groups.

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In an interview with the British daily Financial Times (FT), Modi said his government's "most transformative steps"from a "Clean India" nationwide toilet-building campaign to bringing nearly one billion people online through a pathbreaking digital public infrastructure push-have been realised with public participation.

When asked about the future of the Muslim minority in India, Modi pointed to the economic success of India's Parsis, who he described as a "religious microminority residing in India".

"Despite facing persecution elsewhere in the world, they have found a safe haven in India, living happily and prospering," Modi said.

"That shows that the Indian society itself has no feeling of discrimination towards any religious minority," the prime minister added.

Modi said he is "very confident of victory" in the 2024 national polls as people realise that the nation is on "the cusp of a take-off". "They want this flight to be expedited, and they know the best party to ensure this is the one which brought them this far," he told FT in what the paper described as a rare interview and additional written responses.

A detailed story on the interview was published by FT on Thursday.

"Any talk of amending the Constitution is meaningless," he said.

Modi said critics were entitled to their opinions and the freedom to express them but there was a fundamental issue with such allegations.

"These claims [concerns over the health of Indian democracy] not only insult the intelligence of the Indian people but also underestimate their deep commitment to values like diversity and democracy," he said. He added an ecosystem was using the freedom available in the country to hurl allegations daily, through editorials, TV channels, social media, videos, and tweets.