McCain Joins Chorus For Modi To Address Joint Congress Session

WASHINGTON: Senior Republican Senator John McCain has joined the group of lawmakers urging Congressional leadership to invite India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address a joint session of the U.S. Congress.

"When the Prime Minister comes to Washington, I urge our congressional leaders to invite him to address a joint session of Congress," McCain said in a major speech on India at the Senate yesterday.

The Arizona Senator is travelling to India next week to meet Modi and his national security team. Last week, two top American lawmakers had urged the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives John Boehner to invite Modi to address a joint session of the U.S. Congress.

Congressman Ed Royce, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Congressman George Holding in a letter to House Speaker John Boehner, had requested that Modi be allowed to address a joint meeting of Congress. Modi is expected to travel to Washington in September.

"I can imagine no more compelling scene than the elected leader of the world's largest democracy addressing the elected representatives of the world's oldest democracy," McCain said. "As we seek to take our strategic partnership with India to the next level, it is important for U.S. leaders to reach out personally to Prime Minister Modi, especially in light of recent history.

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