PM @narendramodi meeting the US Congress members, before his address to the Joint Session pic.twitter.com/oDW3GCKQXf



— PIB India (@PIB_India) June 8, 2016

PM @narendramodi addressing the Joint Session of U.S. Congress pic.twitter.com/BIG8HP99uN



— PIB India (@PIB_India) June 8, 2016

Our relationship is primed for a momentous future: Modi

WASHINGTON: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday eased India towards an informal alliance with the United States, saying the relationship has “overcome the hesitations of history” and suggesting the time is propitious for Washington and New Delhi to become ideal partners even through occasional differences.In a 45-minute address to the joint session of the US Congress , Modi invoked former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s expression of “natural allies” – a term had been discarded in the years since – to indicate India was well and truly aligned with the United States now. He cited a range of common objectives and collaborations – from securing the Indian Ocean to science and technology cooperation – to emphasize that New Delhi is ready to fulfill President Obama’s vision of India and the US forming the defining partnership of the 21st century.New Delhi has shrank back from using the word ally to describe the increasingly close partnership from the time Vajpayee first used it, but Modi had no hesitation in embracing it before a rapturous Congress, whose laws once barred him from visiting the United States. Quoting from Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass – “The orchestra have sufficiently tuned their instruments, the baton has given the signal” – Modi added his own note to it: There is a new symphony in play.Indeed, he hit all the right buttons in an address punctuated by several rounds of applause from lawmakers, including a few standing ovations. In an oblique defense – and dismissal – of the charges against him that resulted in revocation of his US visa, Modi reminded lawmakers that the Indian Constitution is the only holy book for his government, and the people of India enjoyed freedom and equality regardless of their religion and faith.Just the day before his address, a few lawmakers held a censorious Congressional hearing on religious and human rights issues in India that was clearly timed to remind him of continued infractions in India, but Indian officials had contemptuously dismissed the concerns, asking activists to look at the overwhelmingly positive sentiment of the Congress. That became apparent as soon as Modi walked into the chamber to an ovation that lasted more nearly five minutes.Clearly aware of the fluidity of the political situation in the US that could result in changes in the executive and legislature in November, Modi sought to cement ties into the future as he spoke of the “comfort, candor, and convergence that define our conversation”… “through the cycle of elections and the transition of administrations.” He thanked Congress for “acting as a compass,” and, with a touch of irony, complimented lawmakers for turning barriers into bridges of partnership.Indeed, there were some joshing as Modi ribbed lawmakers on their “bipartisanship” in a reference to the raucous nature of democracy in both countries. He also needled some of the more protectionist sentiments in the Congress by joking that more Americans (30 million) now bat for Yoga than throw a curve ball (a baseball delivery), but India had still not claimed intellectual property rights on its ancient science.On a more serious note, Modi asserted India’s claim for a seat at the high table -- balked largely by China -- without once mentioning Beijing. To paraphrase his view, the US merely outsourcing the job of a regional policeman to India would not suffice: global institutions conceived in the 20th century should reflect the realities of the 21st century.India is ready to be the net security provider for the Indian Ocean region, anchoring peace and prosperity from Asia to Africa, from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific, but it’s effectiveness would increase only if such institutions reflect the realities of today, Modi told lawmakers, many of whom have expressed the view that India should play a more active role in the region to the point of being a US ally. Among them is the influential chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee John McCain, who told Modi over dinner on Tuesday night that he expected India to work constructively with the US given the tensions in the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean region.The Indian Prime Minister also implicitly criticized past US policies towards Pakistan, reminding them (without naming Pakistan) that terrorism was incubated in India’s neighborhood, and refusing to reward those who sponsored terrorism is the first step in holding them accountable.