US: 4 lawmakers ask House speaker to invite PM Modi to address Congress

Washington, Apr 20: Four senior law makers in US have sent a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan requesting him to invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address a Joint Meeting of Congress.

Prime Minister Modi is expected to visit US in June. This will be his first state visit to the country but his fourth voyage to US since he assumed office on May 26, 2014.

"Given the depth of our relationship with India across a range of areas -- defense, humanitarian and disaster relief, space cooperation, conservation, and innovation, -- we believe this is an ideal opportunity for the Congress to hear directly from the Prime Minister. Therefore, we ask that you invite Prime Minister Modi to address a Joint Meeting of Congress. It is our understanding that if invited, the Prime Minister would accept," lawmakers written to House Speaker Paul Ryan on Tuesday.

This letter has been written by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA), Ranking Member Eliot Engel (D-NY), and Reps. George Holding (R-NC) and Ami Bera (D-CA), Co-Chairs of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans.

The invitation would be a sharp turnaround for a politician who was once barred from the United States over riots in Gujarat.

The US-India relationship consistently garners strong bipartisan support. Inviting Prime Minister Modi to address a Joint Meeting will allow Congress to express support for this special global partnership.

Invitations to address the Senate and House are considered a great honour.

OneIndia News