Freedom of expression is a hallmark of US and India : US Ambassador

23 February, Patna

Amid raging controversy over the arrest of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar on sedition charges, United States Ambassador to India Richard R Verma Tuesday said freedom of expression had been the hallmark of both US and India and emphasised on the need of its protection.

Verma told mediapersons here that every democratic country had to take a decision on how much it would allow freedom of expression but both the US and India had proved their credentials on this count.

“Freedom of expression has been the hallmark of US as well as India,” he remarked to a query on situation arising in JNU campus due to the arrest of JNUSU president Kanhaiya on sedition charges for his alleged anti-India remarks inside JNU premises during an event recently.

The Ambassador said US based General Electric (GE) has signed a 2.15 billion US dollars contract with Indian Railways for providing 1000 diesel locomotives to the mammoth public enterprise during the next 11 years.

While 900 locomotives would be manufactured at Marhaura loco plant in Bihar, rest 100 would be manufactured at GE facility in US.

Commenting on Pakistan sponsored terrorism on Indian soil, the US Ambassador said, “We know your concern. More effective action needs to be taken against terrorist organisations.

Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious “Make in India” programme, Verma said, “Make in India would create tremendous job opportunities in India. It is a great initiative for the job creation”.

Stressing on the need for stable tax regime, the Ambassador said that commercial courts required to be set up in India stating that these courts had proved their utility in resolving commerce related cases in US.

He said several hundreds and thousands of US citizens had been employed by Indian companies in his country adding that the US wanted more Indian firms to do business on its soil.