Modi may be invited to address US Congress

NEW DELHI/WASHINGTON, June 21:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi may address a joint session of the US Congress during his coming visit  to Washington in September.
Media reports from the US capital said that Chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee Ed Royce had written to House Speaker John Boehner, proposing that he invite Mr Modi to address a joint session of the House and the Senate.    Mr Modi, who had been denied a visa for the US in the wake of 2002 Gujarat riots, had been invited by President Barack Obama to visit his country soon after the BJP scored a landslide victory under his leadership last month.
Mr Royce, in his letter to Mr Boehner, is understood to have underlined that India was the most important partner of the US in South Asia in every aspect – whether it be in political, economic or security relations.
He also pointed out to Mr Obama’s own observation that  the US-India relationship will be one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century.
(UNI)