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

Asserting that Berlin respects the election results in India and has full trust in its judicial system, German Ambassador to India, Michael Steiner, on Friday said the decision to meet Narendra Modi 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.

"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 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.