With Prime Minister Narendra Modi going to visit the US in September, New Delhi and Washington are learnt to be working on scheduling a luncheon meeting with US Senators, an address to the joint session of the US Congress, an Indian community reception and a State dinner at the White House.
While South Block and the White House — through the Ministry of External Affairs and the US State Department — are working on the nuts and bolts of these ideas, much is expected to be discussed when US Secretary of State John Kerry meets External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj in Delhi on July 31.
And to top it all, an influential Indian American lobbying group, the US India Political Action committee (USINPAC) — which worked behind-the-scenes during the Indo-US nuclear deal, has thrown its weight behind these proposals.
Sanjay Puri, USINPAC chairman, said, “We are meeting several US Congressmen for the joint address by Prime Minister Modi and a resolution is being moved which already has over 50 signatures of Congressmen. This will be sent to Speaker John Boehner, and individual Congressmen are also writing letters to him backing this proposal. The idea is to create a groundswell, so that he knows that many Congressmen want this.”
According to those familiar with the process, the US Congress has to be “in session” for the address to take place. However, the US Congress is on a holiday in the week starting on September 22 on account of Jewish holidays. So, it is important that US Congress Speaker John Beohner keeps the session “in play”, after the Jewish holidays are over.
If Modi addresses the Congress, he will be joining former Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and Atal Bihari Vajpayee in receiving that honour. “Only key friends and allies of the US are chosen to address the Congress,” a person familiar to discussions said.
Another big opportunity is to have a luncheon meeting with the US Senators, which will give them an opportunity to interact with Modi, at a more informal and personal level. This is another idea, which is being worked upon by the two sides — which has not happened in the recent past with Indian PM. The White House could also be hosting a State dinner — much like US President Barack Obama hosted one for Singh in November 2009.
While these events are expected to take place in Washington on September 29-30, the Indian community is also planning a grand reception in New York for Modi. Though an Indian community bash is common during PM visits, the idea is to scale it up this time and make it a grand affair.
Source: The Indian Express
