PM Modi congratulates new US President Joe Biden, stresses on furthering bilateral ties

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Joe Biden on taking oath as the 46th President of the United States of America. Wishing him a successful term, the Prime Minister expressed his desire to work with Biden for strengthening the India-US strategic partnership. Moreover, PM Modi stated that both countries are united in addressing "common challenges" and advancing global peace and security.

Observing that the India-US partnership is based on shared values, he stressed that both nations have multifaceted bilateral agendas, growing economic engagement and vibrant people-to-people linkages. Moreover, PM Modi exuded confidence in taking the India-US partnership to greater heights by working along with the new US President. Meanwhile, Kamala Harris took over as the Vice President of the US. 

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Joe Biden takes charge as the US President

The 78-year-old Biden was administered the oath of office by US Chief Justice John Roberts on the steps of the US Capitol. In the 2020 US Presidential election, Biden trounced the incumbent president Donald Trump by winning 304 electoral college votes. He also won the popular vote, bagging 51.4 per cent of votes- amassing 8,12,83,485 as against 46.9 per cent votes secured by Trump. Earlier, the smooth transition to power had hit a roadblock after thousands of Trump supporters broke barricades outside the Capitol and marched into the building on January 6. This was seen as a fallout of a speech delivered by Trump from the White House where he urged people to march on the US Capitol in protest against alleged electoral fraud. 

Visuals from inside the Capitol showed the rioters inside US Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office, inside the Congress and Senate Hall as police officers deployed tear gas inside the building. By the time the building was secured, at least four persons lost their lives while more than a dozen police officers sustained injuries. Subsequently, Trump faced a severe backlash which metamorphised in the form of resignations from his White House staff and the banning of his Facebook and Twitter accounts. Furthermore, the US Congress formally certified the victory of Biden. Earlier in the day, Trump became the first US President since 1869 to skip his successor's inauguration ceremony. 

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