'Decision to meet Modi out of respect for India's democracy'

Asserting that Berlin respects the election results in India [ Images ] and has full trust in its judicial system, German Ambassador to India, Michael Steiner, on Friday said the decision to meet Narendra Modi [ Images ] was taken after the Gujarat assembly polls.

"I have always said that we will not interfere in an ongoing election campaign in Gujarat and that we will take a fresh look after the elections. That's exactly what we were doing and part of it is to talk directly to Chief Minister Modi," Steiner told the media in New Delhi [ Images ].

"India is a democracy. We respect the democratic institutions. We respect election results in India and we have full trust in its judicial system. Because of this respect and trust, we are now in a new phase and I think that this respect from us towards India is also what the people in India expect from us," he added.

The German ambassador's statement comes at a time when the chorus within the Bharatiya Janata Party [ Images ] for declaring Modi as the party's prime ministerial candidate has grown loud, making National Democratic Alliance members such as the Janata Dal-United nervous and resulting in a gag order on the issue by BJP President Rajnath Singh.