US goes gaga over India
C K Arora/Washington
(In an unprecedented move, the US House of Representatives, by an almost unanimous resolution, has hailed India's democratic electoral process and urged President Clinton to broaden the United States' "special relationship with India into a strategic partnership".)
......Mr Ackerman, who was away on tour in India, in a statement issued here on Tuesday night, said the US Congress, through this measure, recognised the fact that "the people of India have a deep and abiding commitment to democracy and the House salutes them for the passion with which they choose their own destiny".
"No country reflects our own values more in the part of the world than does India. It is high time we seriously begin recognising this fact and graduate from mere platitudes to some tangible policy changes towards India," he remarked.
The India caucus co-chairman also made out a strong case for "re-examining" US policy in South Asia.
"We should abandon old paradigms and cold war hang-ups and see that India, a democracy, is our natural ally in the region," the New York lawmaker said adding, "The best way to demonstrate our commitment to the people of India is by ensuring that the President travels to India as soon as possible."....................
In another development, a bipartisan group of prominent 27 Congressmen, wrote to President Clinton expressing concern at the military coup in Pakistan. It urged the President to use the new authority given to him by Congress to "push US-India relations to a higher plane so that Washington and New Delhi could emerge as strategic partners"........
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