Congress dubs PM's US visit 'disappointing'

The Congress Party on Wednesday dubbed the India-United States joint statement as 'disappointing' and opined that nothing has come out of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's U.S visit.

Congress leader Manish Tewari suggested that juxtaposed to the joint statement, the remarks of both the leaders emphasised on the divergence in the relationship of both the countries rather than convergence.

"There is no mention of the H1B visas, which has been the singular biggest irritant in the Indo-U.S. relationship. Even with regard to terror, there is a divergence. President Trump's interpretation of Islamic terror is very different from the interpretation that we have of cross-border terrorism which is being sponsored by Pakistan. President Trump chose to name the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea in his remarks, but he refrained from even mentioning Pakistan," Tewari told ANI.

Tiwari further said that the guardian drones, which India was supposed to buy from the U.S., even that has not seemed to have materialised.

"All that President Trump has appreciated is the order placed by a private Indian aviation company to buy 100 airplanes from the United States which only helps in creating U.S. jobs," he said.

"In essence there is absolutely nothing which has come out of the visit. In fact, if you see President Trump's six tweets since yesterday morning (as per Indian Standard Time), all pertain to domestic U.S. politics. They didn't pertain to the Indo-U.S. relation at all. So, it goes to show as to where Trump's priority lie," he said.

However, as per joint statement, both the leaders met yesterday and vowed to curb terrorism.

They also look forward to working together on advanced defence equipment and technology at a level commensurate with that of the closest allies and partners of the U.S.

Prime Minister Modi, today morning departed for the Netherlands, for the last leg f his three-nation tour.

-ANI