 "US to lay red carpet for Modi during September visit to Washington")
Prime Minister Narendra Modi might be invited to address a joint session of the US Congress during his visit to Washington in September. Modi, whom the US refused a visa in 2005 to visit that country, will only be the second Indian PM to be accorded the honour after Manmohan Singh addressed a joint session of the US Congress in 2005.
Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to visit New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly in September. He is also slated to pay an official visit to Washington at US President Barack Obama's invitation. The dates of his visit to the US are yet to be fixed, but the visits are likely to take place in the latter half of September.
Government sources in New Delhi termed the invite for Modi to address the US Congress, as and when it comes, to be an honour. New Delhi believes the visit and now this honour to Modi would help iron out some of the rough spots because of Washington's refusal to give Modi a visa because of the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat when Modi was a Chief Minister of that state.
In an interview to Indian television network NDTV recently, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the issue of visa was something "in the past", and that Obama and Modi will "have an opportunity in the near future to actually meet and sit down and end any lingering questions about that past incident."
Clinton further said that she hoped that the PM (Modi) "by his actions, demonstrates unequivocally that he is the Prime Minister for all of India, ever single group inside India. I think that's his intention, and then that ends whatever lingering concerns anyone had." But Clinton said there weren't any concerns "at least not in our government, not now. And I don't think there should be based on what kind of campaign he ran and what he promised to do".
According to agency reports from the US, California Republican Ed Royce, chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, wrote to House Speaker John Boehner on Friday and asked that he invite Modi to address a joint session of the House and Senate during his trip.
"In every aspect - whether it be in political, economic or security relations - the United States has no more important partner in South Asia," the letter said. In his letter, Royce echoed US President Obama's speech at his address to a joint session of Indian Parliament in November 2010, that it wasn't "an overstatement to say that the U.S.-India relationship will be one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century."
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According to Reuters, Boehner's office did not immediately announce a response to the letter, which was also signed by North Carolina Republican Representative George Holding. Congressional aides said they expected an invitation would be issued to the Indian leader.
The administration of President George W. Bush denied Modi a visa in 2005 under a 1998 U.S. law barring entry to foreigners who have committed "particularly severe violations of religious freedom." The then US Ambassdor Nancy Powell met Modi in Ahmedabad in February this year to mark the end of Washington's refusal to engage with him.
This came at least two years after most of prominent European Union member states ended their boycott of Modi. Others, like China and Japan, had continued to invite Modi and have strong business ties with the Gujarat government from 2002 to 2014. Chinese President Xi Jinping sent his special envoy foreign minister Wang Yi to Delhi earlier this month to meet Modi. The PM is likely to visit Japan after the budget session, which is going to be his first foreign visit outside the subcontinent.
President Obama congratulated Modi on his election victory in mid-May and invited him to the White House. The US views India as a strong strategic ally in South Asia, with which it has strong defence and business relations since 2001. The two countries have in place a strategic dialogue, a bilateral trade in excess of US $ 65 billion with the US being the fifth biggest investor in India. The US sees India as a crucial player in the developing security architecture in Asia.
But apart from refusal of visa to Modi, relations in recent past have also been hobbled by tension over treatment meted out to Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade and bureaucratic and regulatory obstacles in India to expanded business ties.
However, in their letter the two Congressmen strongly pitched for Modi. "With more than 500 million people voting in the recent Indian election, it was both the world's largest democratic event and an historic moment for India. The US must now work closely with Prime Minister Modi to strengthen the important relationship between the two countries," they wrote.
The two pointed out how under Modi's leadership Gujarat has thrived and that with home to a mere five per cent of India's population, Gujarat now accounts for about 25 per cent of Indian exports. They wrote that it was during Modi's years as Gujarat CM that poverty rates fell dramatically, and infrastructure grew impressively. They said Prime Minister Modi has promised focus on private enterprise, reduce bureaucracy, and strengthen trade ties with major partners.
"Since 2001, US-India trade has experienced impressive growth, but our commercial relationship remains far below the scale of our markets. Prime Minister Modi's commitment to cut the red tape that has long plagued our trade relationship gives reason for hope that our economic partnership will flourish," Royce and Holding wrote.
"Prime Minister Modi's visit to the United States will undoubtedly be a seminal event for the nation's vibrant Indian American community. We look forward to working with you to ensure that this trip is a success," the letter said.
Foreign heads of states and heads of government have been invited to address joint meetings of Congress since the early 1800s, normally to underscore their countries' close allegiance with the United States. The last such address was South Korean President Park Geun-hye's more than a year ago, on May 8, 2013.