by Jove, I think he’s got it!!

All over our neighborhood celebratory bombs (fire-crackers) are exploding like mad.
Well……not really, BPeeps are just too smart to believe that but we had to try, right?

Sadly for us, the fun moments passed by too quickly, the White House must have been checking with legal all day and the lawyers just called back. Hooray!!!

11:24 PM White House says US President Barack Obama would be reaching out to Narendra Modi

………
Reaching out to Narendra Modi after his landslide electoral win, the
Obama Administration tonight said the prime minister-elect is welcome to
visit the US, which has denied him visa since 2005 in the wake the
Gujarat riots.

 
Hours after the results of the elections were out, the White House
exuded confidence that the India-US relationship under a Modi Government
would make further progress.

 
“We congratulate Narendra Modi and the BJP on winning a majority of
seats in this historic election. Once the government is formed, we look
forward to working closely with the prime minister and the Cabinet to
advance our strong bilateral relationship based on shared democratic
values,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters at his
daily news conference.

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama tonight congratulated Narendra Modi
for his emphatic electoral victory during a telephone call in which
they discussed Indo-US strategic partnership and the global economic
situation.

 
Obama told Modi that the largest democracy in the world had given a
decisive mandate. The US leader also expressed the hope that under
Modi’s leadership, India would play a significant role on the global
stage. “The prime minister of India will be welcomed to the US,” he said.

In 2005, the US State Department had revoked a visa that Modi had for
travelling to the US on the ground of alleged human rights violations
after the 2002 Gujarat riots.

 
The US has repeatedly said there is no change in its long-standing visa
policy relating to Modi but he is free to apply for a visa and await a
review like any other applicant.

 
However, in a sudden u-turn in February, the US signalled the end of its
boycott of Modi when its ambassador to India Nancy Powell met him in
Ahmedabad.

“The President will be reaching out to Modi. And as I noted, we
congratulate him and the BJP on winning a majority of seats in these
historic elections,” Carney said as he described Indo-US relationship as
“important”.

 
He said Obama looks forward to building on the progress the two
countries made during the outgoing UPA government led by Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh.

 
“We congratulate India and the people of India on a historic national
election which saw more voters cast their ballots freely and fairly than
in any election in human history,” Carney said in response to a
question.

 
“We would also like to thank Prime Minister Singh for the role he played
in transforming our strategic partnership during his 10 years in
office,” he said.

Carney refrained from answering questions on Modi’s visa ban by the previous Bush Administration.

 
“I would refer you to State Department for general answers to questions
about the issuance of visas. I can tell you that the prime minister of
India will be welcomed to the US. And I would also note that US
officials, including (US) Ambassador (to India, Nancy) Powell, have met
with Modi. So he is certainly not unknown to us,” Carney said.

 
“I think the future is bright. We have long said that we look forward to
working with whomever the Indian people choose in these elections,” the
White House Press Secretary said when asked about the future of India
US relationship.

 
The US-India partnership enjoys broad support across party lines in both
of our countries, he said, adding that “I am confident that we will
continue our successful and productive partnership with the new Indian
government.”

 
Responding to questions, Carney said that the visa issues would not affect the bilateral relationship.

“We await the formation of a government and we absolutely look forward
to continuing all the progress that we have made in our bilateral
relationship and fully expect to be able to do so,” he said.

 
“The Prime Minister of India will receive a visa to travel to the United
States. We look forward to working with the new government and the new
Prime Minister. I don’t anticipate any problem in that regard,” Carney
said when asked about the visa issue.

 
“What we do anticipate is moving forward with the new government in
strengthening a relationship that has already been strengthened
significantly over the past years with Prime Minister Singh at the helm
in India,” he added.

……

regards