Floored by the stunning scale of the Narendra Modi victory, US lawmakers have begun making the case for a quick reset of bilateral relations, with some of them seeing “a new opportunity” to grow the ties that have lately been in a state of drift.
Republican Congressman Ed Royce, who heads the key House Committee on Foreign Affairs, expects Modi, armed as he is with such a big mandate, to advance his brand of pro-growth economic policies as seen in Gujarat.“Now we have a new opportunity in India to see a new Government and to see some of the challenges that we all hope are addressed said at a Capitol Hill event put together by the US-India Political Action Committee to celebrate the BJP victory and deliberate on the road ahead for bilateral relations.
In a message to the event, BJP president Rajnath Singh said his party is looking forward to strengthening relations with the US. “And we will take the large Indian American community on board in this endeavour,” he added.“There is now a mandate for changes to address pro-growth economic policies and having watched what happened in Gujarat, we now have that opportunity to see that (at the national level),” Congressman Royce commented.
With President Barack Obama having already invited Modi to visit Washington “at a mutually agreeable time to further strengthen our bilateral relationship”, Royce said: “We in the (House) Foreign Affairs Committee look forward to his visit.Democratic Congressman and co-chair of the India Caucus Joseph Crowley had his own variant of Modi’s “Achhe din aane wale hain” line, remarking that India-US relationship are set to see better days. Crowley also expressed happiness with Obama’s invitation to Modi.
Among the lawmakers enthusiastic on Modi have been Democrats Eni FH Faleomavaega from American Samoa and Tulsi Gabbard from Hawaii, who also happens to be the first-ever Hindu American to enter the US Congress.Saying she had recently spoken with Modi by phone after the “extraordinary achievement”, Gabbard said: “I look forward to working with Modi and other members of the Indian Government toward our mutual goals of peace, stability, and economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region.”
“A partnership between the world’s two largest and greatest democracies is necessary for us to successfully address the many global challenges we face, including economic growth, bilateral trade, the environment, terrorism, and security,” she said.
US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal commented that the Obama Administration was very positive about the future course of relations. “We recognise the Indian electorate has weighed in with a resounding mandate for Prime Minister Modi and we want to work with him for advancing his goals for India as a regional and global player,” she told reporters.
Biswal, who happens to be the first Indian-American to become the US point person for South Asia, said: “The President stated definitely that we will be welcoming Modi. We, like rest of the world, have seen a remarkable election and a remarkable transition.”