US Congressman from Georgia, Rich McCormick, has exuded confidence that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be re-elected in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. McCormick, a decorated veteran and emergency room physician, represents Georgia’s 6th Congressional District, which has a sizable Indian American population.
In an interview with news agency PTI, the Republican lawmaker said “Prime Minister Modi is incredibly popular. I was just over there. I actually had lunch with Prime Minister Modi and several other congressmen, and to see his popularity across party lines really. Somebody who I think is around 70 percent popular. He is going to be prime minister again.”
“To see his progressive outlook on economy, on development, on goodwill towards all people, to see his application and positivity to the Indian people in the diaspora worldwide is going to affect the global economy, their strategic relationships. I look forward to his influence in a very positive way,” he said in response to a question.
India’s economy, under Modi’s leadership, he said, is expanding anywhere from four to eight percent per year. “If you look at their willingness to work with other nations now, I would say, I’ll put a caveat in there, sometimes there’s a bit of protectionism, which a lot of characters do. They’ve kind of copied some things that China have done. They’ll have incredible leverage going forward as businesses want to get into India in an expanding market,” McCormick said.
“We just have to be sure that we do it in a way that makes sense to both nations when we share technologies that there’s trust in. The good news is we don’t see the aggressive posturing like we see in China. As a matter of fact, we see a very incredibly important strategic and tactical ally with India to resist countries like China who are autocracies, who believe in a Marxist theology,” he said.
“We need to make sure that we develop that relationship where there’s true trust, that we continue to realise that India is honest. They’re not trying to steal our technologies; they’re trying to share them. It’s okay to use your economic leverage to do that, and as long as we’re having an honest conversation, we can have a great conversation in the future,” McCormick said.
(With agency inputs)
