White House was asked if slums 'bulldozing' came up at PM-Biden meet. It said...

A day after the bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden, the White House was asked if "bulldozing slums in Delhi ahead of the G20 Summit" was brought up in the meeting. Answering this during an audio briefing, the White House said the "state of democratic governance in each of our countries is a core facet of our bilateral relations".

"What I will say is that the state of democratic governance both in the world and in each of our countries is a core facet of the US-India bilateral relationship. Both PM Modi and President Biden have said that, which means that those issues are very much on the agenda in every one of their conversations," said Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer.

It was earlier reported that several slums in Delhi were demolished or covered up by the municipal corporation to beautify the city ahead of the G20 Summit. The government, however, has said that only "illegal" structures were demolished.

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Biden landed in Delhi on Friday evening to attend the G20 Summit and met PM Modi at his residence for bilateral talks.

Earlier, sources on the US side said on Friday that the relationship between Biden and PM Modi was one of "undeniable warmth and confidence", news agency PTI reported.

The US President was very clear about the importance of the health of democracy, sources added.

They said there were a number of things in India that the US believes were quite strong and healthy and there were other issues on which it continued to have dialogue.

Some high-tech topics such as space and microchips were discussed during the Biden-Modi meeting, sources further said.

Meanwhile, PM Modi greeted world leaders at the Bharat Mandapam for the G20 Summit, which is being held for the first time in India and in South Asia. India currently holds the presidency of the G20.