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Modi in US, 2016 and Clinton in India, 2000: A tale of two leaders who charmed hardened politicians

In many ways, Modi's visit to US and his subsequent speech in Capitol Hill was reminiscent of Bill Clinton's address to both houses of parliament in 2000.

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PM Modi in US and Bill Clinton and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
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PM Modi’s address to US Congressmen on Wednesday won many hearts with Modi receiving a standing ovation while several lawmakers came up to ask for his autograph. The New York Times, a newspaper which has often been critical of his tenure as PM, ran the picture on a photo of PM Modi surrounded by Congressmen on its front page.

After his speech, several Congressmen praised his speech, which was a mash-up of serious messages about terrorism and US-India relationship along with jokes about yoga and Apple's virtual assistant Siri. His joke about bipartisanship, an issue that’s common both in the Indian parliament and the US Congress also went down rather well. He had said: “"I am told you are well-known for your bipartisanship. Well, you are not alone. Time and again, I have also witnessed a similar spirit in the Indian Parliament, especially our Upper House. So, as you can see, we have many shared practices.”

The front page of the New York Times (Pic Courtesy: New York Times) 

Senator Ben Cardin, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who for the past two weeks have been raising the issue of human rights and slavery in India, said that Modi yesterday "gained a lot of friends" in the Congress. Referring to Modi's call for India and the US working together for the benefit of the world, Cardin said this was a very powerful message. "His presence, the amount of time he spent and his own personality is very helpful in getting friends here in America," he told PTI.

The clamour for signatures was reminiscent of the time when Bill Clinton had addressed the two houses of the Indian Parliament in March, 2000.

At the time, Clinton had been mobbed by parliamentarians who acted like crazy fan boys to get his signature. After a speech which talked about Indo-Pak relations among other things, a Telegraph special correspondent wrote: “The President had sensed that his speech, despite its concealed barbs, had gone down well. He was walking down the aisle aware he would have to surrender himself to handshakes demanded by the starry-eyed members in the audience.”


Former PM Atal Bihar Vajpayee and Bill Clinton in September 15, 2000 in front of the White House (Getty Images) 

The correspondent also noted that even those who were opposed to America were desperate to meet him. The report said: “The anti-English, anti-Clinton Samajwadi MPs beamed at the American President and warmly clutched both his hands. So did the hardliners in the BJP who often decry the American hand in Indian industry. Vinod Khanna, who has had the experience of being mobbed by fans in the past, overtook a few MPs in his aisle to have some Clinton’s gleam rubbed on him. The MPs were falling all over the place.”

Reportedly, Clinton’s security was aghast and were trying to make sure that the men and women approaching their president were indeed parliamentarians.

The correspondent added that erstwhile Vajpayee appeared bemused, while Sonia Gandhi disappeared into a corner with Bill’s daughter Chelsea. The affair ended when the late Pramod Mahajan elbowed the crowd urging them to ‘leave him alone’ before handing him over to his bodyguards. All in all, the Congressmen’s reaction to Modi, was a gentle reminder that perhaps all of us do get starstruck at times, even if we are lawmakers or parliamentarians. 

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