{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://rokita.house.gov/press-release/release-rokita-greets-modi-nyc-thanks-indian-pm-us-visit", "RELEASE -- ROKITA GREETS MODI IN NYC; THANKS INDIAN PM FOR US VISIT", "2014-10-01", "2014", "2014-10", "Republican", "House", "IN", "Todd Rokita", "R000592", "rokita.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE\nOctober 1, 2014\nContact: Brendan Thomas  \n\tPhone: (202) 225-0664  \n\tE-mail: brendan.thomas@mail.house.gov\n\u00a0\n ROKITA GREETS MODI IN NYC;\u00a0THANKS INDIAN PM FOR US VISIT\n \n\u00a0\nRep. Todd Rokita, a member of the House India and Indian Americans Caucus, joined fellow Congressmen and Senators in New York City on Sunday to greet India\u2019s Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Madison Square Garden. \u201cHe spoke about free markets and democracy, as well as reducing government red tape and corruption,\u201d said Rokita, praising the new leader of the world\u2019s largest democracy.\nModi departed the U.S. yesterday, after a five-day tour that culminated in Washington, D.C. \u201cIndia and the U.S., the world\u2019s oldest and second-largest democracy, are natural allies,\u201d said the Congressman. \u201cThat seems especially true, knowing all the proud Indian Americans in Indiana\u2019s 4th District.\u201d He expects greater international cooperation in the future, especially at Lafayette\u2019s Purdue University, already a popular destination for Indian students.\nAs president of the National Association of Secretaries of State, the Hoosier Congressman led a delegation to India. More recently, he advocated to House Speaker John Boehner for improved relations with Modi\u2019s India, shortly after the Prime Minister took office in 2014.\nModi\u2019s reform platform is partly due to Indian Americans\u2019 influence on their home country, said Rokita. \u201cIn the U.S., Indians have embraced democracy and entrepreneurialism,\u201d he said, adding that Modi is a ground-breaker, ushering his country into the 21st Century. \u00a0\nIn his Madison Square Garden speech, Modi promised to lower trade barriers with the rest of the world, enlisting its help to \u201cMake in India.\u201d Modi later told the Council on Foreign relations that young people there \u201cdon\u2019t want to live on dole-outs anymore.\u201d He has suggested that he would relax labor restrictions, as well as help fight terrorism.\n\u201cI especially enjoyed the Prime Minister\u2019s comments that his government would remove \u2018obsolete laws\u2019 -- and that he would not be taking any vacations soon,\u201d said Rokita. \u201cI\u2019d like to hear more of that from our own president.\u201d \u00a0\nRep. Rokita discusses India-Indiana relations with Prime Minister Modi in New York\n\u00a0\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://rokita.house.gov/press-release/release-rokita-greets-modi-nyc-thanks-indian-pm-us-visit"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.7093978822231293, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}