Indo-US relations not about one person: Senator

New Delhi: Underscoring that relationship between India and US is "not about one person", key American Senator Ben Cardin on Tuesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been invited to Washington because of the country he represents and not his name.

"The Prime Minister was not invited to address the joint session of the Congress because of his name but because of his country," he said here at a seminar after which he responded to some questions.

The relationship between the two countries is "not about one person", Cardin said in his response when it was pointed out that Modi was a pariah in the US until recently but now he has been invited to address the joint session of the Congress.

This is "representation of the importance of that relationship" between the two countries, he said.

Modi will travel to Washington on June 7 for a visit during which he will address a joint session of the US Congress.

Earlier, the US had refused to grant visa to Modi post Gujarat riots.

Cardin, who has been vocal about the "religious intolerance" in India, said the relationship between India and the US will continue to go strong beyond the election of the next administration in the United States.

"It underscores by the fact that here we are in an election year in a Republican controlled Congress and PM is to speak before the joint session of the Congress," Cardin said.