The Prime Minister becomes the first Indian leader to address the joint session of the US Congress twice
Washington: In his nearly hour-long address to the US Congress, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s literally brought the house down with multiple standing ovations in the grand House Chamber at the US Capitol here on a Thursday, June 22, a PTI report in The Tribune, Chandigarh, say.
The rousing cheers and applause from American lawmakers, were frequently interspersed with chants of ‘Modi, Modi’ from members of the diaspora community present at the joint address.
The Indian Prime Minister became the first Indian leader to address the joint session of the US Congress twice. He first addressed a joint meeting of the US Congress in 2016.
Modi arrived in the House Chamber to a rousing reception as lawmakers stood up and applauded as he walked up to the podium to deliver his address. Members of the Indian-American community sat in the visitor galleries in the chamber and erupted into applause and chanted ‘Modi, Modi’ as the Indian leader walked in.
Modi’s address received about 15 standing ovations from US lawmakers and multiple applauses. On several occasions, the diaspora broke into chants of ‘Modi, Modi’ and ‘Bharat Mata ki jai’ during the address.
During his address, Modi said, “There are millions here, who have roots in India. Some of them sit proudly in this chamber. There is one behind me, who has made history.”
He was referring to Kamala Harris, the first Black, South Asian, and woman to be elected to the post of Vice President. Harris’ mother Shyamala Gopalan, a breast cancer scientist, hailed from Chennai, India.
As Modi made this comment, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi smiled and looked over at Congressmen Ro Khanna and Raja Krishnamoorthi sitting across the aisle from her as applauded and acknowledged them. Both are US lawmakers of Indian origin.
Some aspects of Modi’s address also elicited light-hearted laughter from the lawmakers, with one saying, “In all this, Indian-Americans have played a big role. They are brilliant in every field, not just in Spelling Bee.”
During his address, Modi said, “There are millions here, who have roots in India. Some of them sit proudly in this chamber. There is one behind me, who has made history.”
It was a reference to the popular spelling competition in America that has been dominated by Indian-American children who emerge as champions year after year. This year, too, 14-year-old Dev Shah, an eighth grader from Florida, won the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Modi’s address ended with a prolonged standing ovation and applause from the lawmakers and members of the Indian-American community.
As he walked to exit the chamber, several lawmakers crowded around him, shaking his hand, congratulating him and getting his autograph on special copies of his speech that were circulated to the attendees.
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