I-Day: US lawmakers to attend PM Modi’s Aug 15 address at the Red Fort
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: As India celebrates the 75th anniversary of Independence Day on August 15, a bipartisan group of leading US lawmakers will attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort in the national capital.
The US Congressional delegation will be led by Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna and Congressman Michael Waltz, who are co-chairs of the bipartisan Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans, the media reported on Tuesday.
“It is an honor to lead a bipartisan delegation to India and be there to celebrate India’s Independence Day. My grandfather spent his life fighting for India’s independence. So, this is a deeply personal and meaningful trip for me. It is also a historic moment for the US-India relationship. I plan to meet with Prime Minister Modi, External Affairs minister S. Jaishankar, cabinet ministers, and a diverse range of MPs along with business, tech, cricket, and Bollywood leaders,” Khanna was quoted as saying.
“This trip will deepen the coordination and partnership between our countries and allow us to engage on important issues like decarbonization, digitization, economic partnership, defense ties, and pluralism and human rights,” he said.
They will meet with business, technology, government, and Bollywood leaders in Mumbai, Hyderabad, and New Delhi and visit Raj Ghat, the historic memorial dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi, the statement said.
Khanna and Waltz will be joined by lawmakers Deborah Ross, Kat Cammack, Shri Thanedar, and Jasmine Crockett along with Rich McCormick and Ed Case.
For Congressman Khanna, this is history coming full circle.
“His grandfather Amarnath Vidyalankar was an Indian freedom fighter who spent four years in jail alongside Gandhi and later was part of India’s first parliament,” said the official statement issued in Washington on Monday.
“As co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans, we are proud to lead a bipartisan delegation to India. We will be there to discuss how to strengthen economic and defense ties between our two counties, the oldest and largest democracies,” Khanna said.
“Both of us believe that the US-India relationship will be a defining one of the 21st century. India is a key partner in ensuring multipolarity in Asia and the denial of China as a hegemon,” he said.
“We must continue to strive to make progress and build our partnership based on our shared founding values of democracy, freedom of the press and assembly, and human rights. This delegation is a historic opportunity to drive further collaboration and advance shared aims,” Khanna said.
Earlier this year, Khanna and Waltz hosted a historic US-India Summit on Capitol Hill featuring panels and remarks from government leaders, experts, and Indian-American leaders from across the country.
Meanwhile, led by Indian-American Congressman Shri Thanedar, a group of US lawmakers have introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives to declare India’s Independence Day as a National Day of Celebration of the world’s two largest democracies.
The resolution expressed the belief that the strong partnership between the United States and India, rooted in shared democratic values, will continue to advance global democracy and foster peace, stability, and prosperity for all nations.
