Government should not respond to poll rhetoric: PM Narendra Modi on Donald Trump

WASHINGTON: A government should not respond to campaign rhetoric, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said as he refused to react to presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's controversial proposal to ban Muslims from entering the US.

"These are issues of debate in the election. A government shouldn't respond to that," Modi told The Wall Street Journal in an interview.

"As a part of the election debate many things will be said there, who ate what, who drank what, how can I respond to everything?" Modi said when asked about Trump's proposal to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States.

Several world leaders including British Prime Minister David Cameroon have reacted strongly to such a proposal describing it as dangerous.

Modi declined to comment on the question, the paper said.