Co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans -- US Representatives Gary Ackerman and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen -- have written to House Speaker Dennis Hastert, urging him to convene a joint session of the US Congress (both the Houses of the American parliament) for an address by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his visit to Washington July 17 to 19 at President George W Bush's invitation.
Dr Singh will be on his first official visit to the United States.
It will be the first visit by an Indian prime minister in nearly five years.
Ackerman and Ros-Lehtinen, senior members of the House International Relations Committee, wrote that 'an official invitation to address a joint session of Congress will send an unequivocal message to the government and people of India that the US stands in full support of their commitment to democracy, peace, and prosperity for all; and it will show the American people the enduring significance of the relationship between our two great nations.'
'For this reason,' the lawmakers said, 'we would encourage a joint session of Congress to allow Prime Minister Singh to share his thoughts directly on India's role as a regional power, its economic development, its progress toward religious tolerance, and the benefits of increased economic, security, and cultural cooperation between India and the United States.'
Ackerman and Ros-Lehtinen informed Hastert that 'over the past several years, Congress has invited important world leaders to address joint sessions of Congress, including Mexican President Vicente Fox, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Spanish President Jose Maria Aznar, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayyad Allawi and most recently, Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko.'
The lawmakers expressed confidence that 'members of Congress share our belief that Prime Minister Singh is equally deserving of this honor.'
While acknowledging the 'time constraints involved,' Ackerman and Ros-Lehtinen wrote that 'we stand ready to provide you with any assistance in arranging for Prime Minister Singh to address a Joint Session of Congress.'
The Speaker has the sole authority to call a joint session.
Ackerman and Ros-Lehtinen noted that 'India is the world's largest democracy and the second most populous country on the planet,' and its economy was already 'the second-fastest growing in the world, besides being the world's fourth largest in terms of purchasing-power parity.'
'Indeed,' they wrote, 'Dr Singh made his reputation as the architect of India's original economic liberalization and reform program in the early 1990s, when he was finance minister.'
The lawmakers argued that 'these policies are the foundation upon which India's current impressive economic growth is built,' and said that as prime minister, Singh 'has also embarked on an active engagement policy with all of India's neighbors, including resolving difficult issues with Pakistan.'
Ackerman and Ros-Lehtinen added, 'Given the strategic significance of the South Asian region to the US, the importance of Dr Singh's diplomacy, the role that India can play in contributing to US objectives cannot be overstated.'
They pointed out that 'in recent years, the relationship between India and the United States has made rapid and striking advances in all areas -- economic, political, security, defense and science and technology, to name only a few.'
'Our two countries are cooperating on a range of issues related to regional political and economic stability in the world,' the lawmakers wrote. 'We believe this relationship between the world's largest and oldest democracies will get stronger still.'
Asked if it were a done deal, Ackerman laughed and said, "Well, you know in Washington, one thing you should never be is confident. The only worse thing to be is over-confident."
He acknowledged that with Ros-Lehtinen, an influential Republican who is close to Hastert and the Republican leadership in the House, being co-author of the letter made it likely that Hastert would agree to convene such a session.
He said the only possible reason the Speaker may not want to convene such a session is because it could be perceived as a slight to Pakistan.
"To me it's a matter of what it says in the letter -- where our priorities are the strengthening and importance of our bilateral relationship and the fact that India is a great democracy and it would enhance the relationship and the understanding of members of Congress when they hear the views of the new prime minister and have a great degree of confidence that we continue to march together in unison," Ackerman said.
Congressman Frank Pallone, New Jersey Democrat and founder and former co-chair of the India Caucus, said he was confident it would happen.
"The chances are very good. We've had prime ministers before and given the growing relationship between the US and India, the Speaker will probably grant the request."
"He is relatively the new prime minister, the relationship is growing, and we certainly have had joint sessions with leaders who have been much less significant than India. I would think it will be granted."
An expanded version of this report was originally published in India Abroad, the newspaper owned by rediff.com
