New Delhi: US President Barack Obama, who
will undertake his first State visit to India in November, is
expected to address a joint session of Parliament, an honour
that his predecessor George W Bush could not have.
Obama is expected to address the joint session on
November nine, government sources said here today.
In view of this plan, the Winter Session of Parliament,
that usually starts in the second week of November, will be
advanced, they said.
Obama, who took over as the US President in January last
year, will be undertaking his first State visit to India with
an aim of pushing the bilateral ties to new heights.
Bush, who visited India in March 2006, could not have
the honour of addressing the joint session of Parliament of
the world`s largest democracy.
Initially, he was tipped to address the joint session
but the plan was dropped when the Left parties threatened to
boycott it.
Left parties were critical of Bush over the war in Iraq.
However, Bill Clinton had addressed the joint session
during his visit in 2000.
Among others to have addressed the Indian MPs at a joint
session was the then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who
visited India in August 2007.
PTI
