Jindal vows to boost Indo-US ties

Congressman Bobby Jindal has said he would do whatever he can to strengthen bilateral relations between India and the US.

"I will do everything I can to strengthen the relationship," Jindal, Republican from Louisiana, told the agency in an interview. "I have personally asked the president to visit India and I believe he has said he will be going some time this year.

"I think it should become routine for a president to visit India, whether it is a Republican or a Democratic president, just as every president goes to Europe."

The 33-year-old Congressman said the economies of the two democracies were growing increasingly interdependent and they shared the goal to fight terrorism.

Jindal said his policy focus in Congress would be education, healthcare and the environment.

As the sole Indian American in the House of Representatives, the second to make it to those hallowed halls 50 years after California Democrat Dalip Singh Saund, Jindal feels the pressure to prove himself.

"Indian Americans have been very supportive and very excited that I'm here and want me to make a difference as quickly as possible," he said. "They know, I will make a difference, but I am part of a process."

Jindal already seems to have made his mark.