Inauguration for Modi as Prime Minister of India

(Vatican Radio)  Narendra Modi was scheduled to be sworn in as India’s new Prime Minister on Monday, with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in attendance.  The two men are to hold talks on Tuesday.

Modi led his Bharatiya Janata Party to a huge victory in India’s weeks-long general election, using a platform promising economic reform and growth.  Religious minorities have expressed concern about the BJP’s Hindu-nationalist history, although Modi has consistently said he is working for the good of all Indians.

"The first utterances by the prime minister-designate Narendra Modi give me reason to feel optimistic,” said Archbishop John Barwa, of the eastern Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar.

He told the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need the Church will give Modi the benefit of the doubt for now.

“Perhaps our worries and doubts were unfounded after all. Let's wait and see. Of course we respect the vote of the people,” he said. “The BJP has won an overwhelming victory, and the expectations are naturally now very, very high."