UK justifies its U-turn on Modi

The UK’S interests in Gujarat were best served by engaging with the elected leadership there,the British High Commissioner to India James Bevan here said Thursday while clarifying his country’s decision to end a decade-long boycott of Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

In his first ‘Twitter interaction’,Bevan also said “it is the views” of Indian voters that count when asked how the UK views Modi and his role at the national level. “We judged that the UK’s interests in Gujarat were best served by engaging with elected leadership of state,” he tweeted when asked about the reasons for ending the boycott last year.

In October last year,Bevan had met with Modi in Gujarat. The British government,which had boycotted Modi after the 2002 riots,had asked Bevan to visit Gujarat and meet Modi and other senior officials in the state to explore opportunities for closer cooperation.