PM Narendra Modi accepts US leaders’ invite to address joint session of Congress on June 22

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday accepted US Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s invitation to address the US Congress on June 22 during his official state visit to the country on June 22.
“Thank you @SpeakerMcCarthy, @LeaderMcConnell, @SenSchumer, and @RepJeffries for the gracious invitation. I am honored to accept and look forward to once again address a Joint Meeting of the Congress. We are proud of our Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership with the US, built upon the foundation of shared democratic values, strong people-to-people ties, and an unwavering commitment to global peace and prosperity,” Prime Minister tweeted.

Thank you @SpeakerMcCarthy , @LeaderMcConnell , @SenSchumer , and @RepJeffries for the gracious invitation. I am honored to accept and look forward to once again address a Joint Meeting of the Congress. We are proud of our Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership with the US,… https://t.co/yeg6XaGUH2
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 6, 2023

Congressional leaders including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a letter addressed to Modi, “On behalf of the bipartisan leadership of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate, it is our honour to invite you (Prime Minister Modi) to address a joint meeting of Congress on Thursday, June 22.”
“It is my honor to invite @PMOIndia @narendramodi to address a Joint Meeting of Congress on Thursday, June 22nd. This will be an opportunity to celebrate the enduring friendship between the United States and India and speak to the global challenges our countries both face,” Kevin McCarthy tweeted on June 2.

It is my honor to invite @PMOIndia @narendramodi to address a Joint Meeting of Congress on Thursday, June 22nd.
This will be an opportunity to celebrate the enduring friendship between the United States and India and speak to the global challenges our countries both face. pic.twitter.com/gu68UjJltG
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) June 2, 2023

“During your address, you will have the opportunity to share your vision for India’s future and speak to the global challenges our countries both face,” the letter added.
The speech would be Modi’s second to a joint meeting of the U.S. legislature, a rare honour for a leader once denied a visa to enter the United States over human rights concerns.
President Joe Biden is eager to deepen ties with the world’s largest democracy as part of his bid to win what he has framed as a contest between free and autocratic societies, especially China.
The White House announced last month that Modi was invited for an official state visit, despite advocacy groups’ concerns over what they see as a deteriorating human rights situation under his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
The State Department’s annual report on human rights practices released in March listed “significant human rights issues” and abuses in India.
Addresses to joint meetings of Congress are generally reserved for the closest U.S. allies or major world figures. The last was by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in April. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addressed the House and Senate in December.
Several Indian leaders have made such addresses. Modi last did so in 2016. The first was Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1949.
Modi’s relationship with Washington has evolved since 2005, when the administration of then-President George W. Bush denied him a visa under a U.S. law barring entry to foreigners who have committed “particularly severe violations of religious freedom.”
That stemmed from the killing of more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, in sectarian riots in the Indian state of Gujarat shortly after Modi became its chief minister. Modi denied wrongdoing.
In their letter, McCarthy, Schumer, McConnell and Jeffries said the address would celebrate the enduring friendship between the United States and India.
With inputs from agencies
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