EU decision on Modi out of respect for India's democracy: German envoy

New Delhi: The European Union has defended warming up to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, with the German Ambassador to India, Michael Steiner, saying that the decision to lift the diplomatic ban on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader was taken after the elections in the state.

In a statement, the German envoy said, "I have always said that we will not interfere in an ongoing election campaign in Gujarat and we will take a fresh look after elections. That is exactly what we were doing and part of it was to talk directly to Chief Minister Modi."

He further pointed that they talked directly to Modi, adding that the EU respected the democratic resolutions in the country and had full trust in the judiciary. "We respect the democratic resolutions, election results in India. We have full trust in India's judicial system."

The German envoy said the decision by the EU to lift the diplomatic ban on Narendra Modi was taken after the Gujarat elections.

Justifying the fresh stand by the European Union, the German Ambassador said, "We are now in a new phase. This respect from us towards India is what the people of India expect from us."

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