NEW DELHI, 30 July 2021, (TON): US Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a veiled warning on Wednesday about Indian democracy backsliding in his first official visit to New Delhi.

Rights groups say “civil liberties and the space for dissent are under increasing attack in the world’s biggest democracy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.”

Antony Blinken told a joint news conference with Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar “the US and India “take seriously our responsibility to deliver freedom, equality and opportunity to all of our people”. But he added “we know that we must constantly do more on these fronts, and neither of us has achieved the ideals that we set for ourselves.”

Democracies should “always seek to strengthen our democratic institutions, expand access to justice and opportunity, stand up forcefully for fundamental freedoms.”

Blinken said “Under Modi, India has made growing use of anti-terrorism legislation and “sedition” laws to arrest campaigners, journalists, students and others.”

The Modi administration has also brought in legislation that detractors say discriminates against India’s 170-million-strong Muslim minority.

The government denies cracking down on criticism and says people of all religions have equal rights.