US President Barack Obama has congratulated India's Prime Minister designate Narendra Modi and has invited the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader to America at a mutually convenient time.
Obama also hailed the previous PM Manmohan Singh as one of the few admired leaders in the world. He called up Singh on 16 May, soon after the PM demitted office, and stated that he would miss working with Singh.
Replying to Obama's farewell telephone call, Singh thanked the American for his kind words, support and friendship. A press release from the Prime Minister's office stressed that Singh's tenure has been good for India and Indo-US relations.
Obama, on the other hand, invited Modi to visit the US to start a fresh relationship between the two largest democracies in the world. Obama telephoned Modi on Friday and informed that the US looks forward to cooperating closely with India, to deepen the relationship between the two countries.
Modi led the BJP and the National Democratic Alliance to a landslide victory in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections.
Modi was denied visa by the US government in 2005 for the Gujarat Chief Minister's alleged involvement in the 2002 religious riots in the state, in which more than 1,000 Muslims were killed. But India's Supreme Court finds no evidence against Modi with regard to the riots.
When Modi emerged as the potential new PM of India back in February, the Obama-headed US government started to mend ties with the Gujarat CM by deputing the US ambassador and other high officials to Gandhinagar, Gujarat's capital city.
