MODI VS MANMOHAN SINGH

Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s return, newspapers and news websites have been flooded with mentions of his speech in front of the US Congress. His five-nation tour has been overshadowed by the speech he delivered from the podium of the Great Hall on Capitol Hill. Modi, on Wednesday became the fifth Prime Minister to address a joint session of US Congress. The last time an Indian Prime Minister addressed the American lawmakers in a joint session was 11 years ago. Then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh didn’t make it to the front page of every major newspaper, and definitely didn’t take the internet by storm (partly due to technological constraints). At a time when almost the entire nation is cheering for PM Modi, comparisons with his predecessor is inevitable. There is, of course, a glaring difference in the personalities of the two leaders but apart from the style and delivery, a number of similarities can be found in addition to the striking differences. (ALSO READ: Narendra Modi addresses US Congress: PM Modi sends out stern message to those questioning religious freedom in India) For instance, neither of them mentioned his predecessor or the contributions of the previous government to the India-US relations. Both were preceded by the opposition party and therefore, refrained from mentioning them. This could be because they wanted to neither credit the opposition for any success nor criticise them for their failures. Both leaders used the term “natural allies” in their speech. This term was coined by the Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee but only Modi credited it to their former Prime Minister. “No wonder then that former Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee called India and the U.S. ‘natural allies,’” he said. The two leaders referred to their party veteran, crediting them for their vision and recalling their address to US lawmakers. PM Modi accredited Vajpayee for his contribution to India-US relations. “More than fifteen years ago, Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee stood here and gave a call to step out of the ‘shadow of hesitation’ of the past,” he said. (ALSO READ: Narendra Modi’s address to US Congress: Our media Vs Their media and the difference is sensational) PM Manmohan Singh, on the other hand, mentioned the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru who acknowledged American contribution to the Indian constitution. “He said that you could hear in our Constitution the echo of the great voices of the Founding Fathers of your Republic.” Also, Singh mentioned the time Rajiv Gandhi addressed the US Congress where he “spoke of the challenge of building anew on old foundations. He started a process of reorienting India’s economic policies, which has been continued by successive governments.” PM Modi also acknowledged the US influence on the Indian constitution, but used Dr. B. R. Ambedkar instead of Nehru to make his point. Mahatma Gandhi was the exception, who found mention in both Modi’s as well as Singh’s speech. Lastly, there were (obvious) differences in the wording and number of mentions in the two speeches. Singh used 3,264 words as compared to the 2,754 words used by Modi. The incumbent US president found several mentions in Singh’s speech. However, Modi mentioned his President Barack Obama thrice.