John Kerry cracks joke on Delhi rains, asks IIT students if they reached here on boats

New Delhi: US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday took potshots at waterlogging caused by heavy rains in Delhi, saying the students reached the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi on boats.

"I don`t know if you came in boats or amphibious vehicle of some kind," Kerry asked, provoking laughter. There was a foot deep flooding on the road in front of IIT-Delhi. 

Kerry was delayed reaching IIT-Delhi for his lecture due to the torrential rains in the national capital region on Wednesday morning. 

Earlier in the day, reports said that Kerry's visit to the three religious sites in Delhi has been cancelled due to heavy rains. Notably, the US Secretary of State's cavalcade had got stuck in a traffic jam on a road from the IGI airport to the city on Monday for an hour because of rains.

WATCH: Have you (students) come here in boats? Asked US Secretary of State John Kerry at IIT #DelhiRains pic.twitter.com/K13Qav6Bx4 — ANI (@ANI_news) August 31, 2016

Addressing the students, Kerry described India as an established power.

 

“Wherever I go, I find a robust debate and an ambitious vision of future. This is perhaps in the Indian DNA,” said Kerry.

He further underlined that US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have established a personal relationship that is built on a common sense of purpose and vision.

Invoking the issue of extremism, the US Secretary of State underlined the need to strike at the root causes of violent extremism. “We have to work hard to understand the different variations of causes,” said Kerry.

Terror groups like Daesh, al Qaeda, LeT, JeM can't be fought by a single nation alone, said Kerry at IIT-Delhi.

 

“At a time when countries seek to address issues through the use of force, the US and India have upheld the rule-based international order,” added Kerry.