NEW DELHI: Foreign minister S Jaishankar will address a joint reception at the Library of Congress in Washington DC on Wednesday with Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi , the tallest Democrat leader right now and the driving force behind an impeachment inquiry against US President Donald Trump .

Quite apart from the Mahatma Gandhi-Martin Luther King symbolism that will pervade the event, Jaishankar’s appearance with Pelosi will be a way of balancing the politics which is perceived to have got skewed after the ‘Howdy Modi’ event in Houston , where it appeared like the PM might be endorsing Trump who faces re-election next year. Trump dominated that event. Although the Democrat end was held up by House majority leader Steny Hoyer , it was clearly felt that India had to correct the apparent imbalance with the Democratic leadership, who have been traditionally India’s supporters.

Jaishankar met US secretary of state Mike Pompeo , defence secretary Mark Esper, the new national security advisor Robert O'Brien and acting secretary of homeland security Kevin McAleenan. The US-India ‘2+2’ meeting is not yet scheduled, but Jaishankar has met all the key people in that grouping in these three days.

Jaishankar went out of his way to disabuse the notion that PM Narendra Modi had “endorsed” Trump. Speaking to journalists, he stressed that India had a “non-partisan” stand in America’s domestic politics, refuting the notion that Modi had said “abki baar Trump sarkar” as an endorsement. "I think, please, look very carefully at what the prime minister said. My recollection of what the prime minister said was that candidate Trump had used this (‘abki baar, Trump sarkar’). So, the PM is talking about the past,” he said.

Nevertheless, Jaishankar has more than this to work through in domestic US politics. In the past couple of decades, India has found greater sympathy and support for its causes and interests from the Republican end of the table, who are seen as more realistic and understanding of India’s unique challenges and strengths with what New Delhi believes is a clearer vision of India’s future, warts and all. The Democrats, on the other hand, have embraced the liberal, more idealised view of India, which leads them to be disappointed with India’s messy situations. That means a more shrill approach to human rights, Pakistan etc.

