Skip to main content

Namaste Trump? Modi's one upmanship key to 'welcoming' US President in Ahmedabad

By RK Misra*
What is common between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and American President Donald Trump? A king size ego, giant size events and an obsession with walls that separate rather than bridges that bind!
Modi’s Gujarat is fond of comparing his brainchild, the Statue of Unity (SoU) as being twice as high as America’s Statue of Liberty. Again, Houston’s ‘Howdy Modi” last year should be both outclassed and outnumbered two to one in the ‘Namaste President Trump’ at Ahmedabad.
If the US President is building a 576-mile wall, costing $20 million a mile, to fence off his country from Mexico, the civic body in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat is at work building a wall of its own too. Only that this one is to keep the slums of his model state out of Trump’s sight.
Then again, the Trump extravaganza is the inaugural event at the 1.10 lakh capacity, biggest stadium in the world built at a cost over Rs 800 crore. It is unlike anything that the US may have and carries the distinct imprint of the Indian prime minister’s thought process.
The government-both Centre and Gujarat- are pulling out all stops to ensure a one of it’s kind experience to US President Donald Trump in his re-election year when he visits Ahmedabad for three hours on February 24.A local newspaper has calculated the expenditure being incurred on the three hour visit at around Rs 115 crores or Rs 64 lakh a minute or a lakh per second.
If on the one hand, the head honchos of India’s corporate world are being lined up to mark presence at the world’s biggest 1.10 lakh capacity Motera stadium, on the other slums are being ordered evicted or put behind concrete walls to ensure a feel good for the distinguished visitor.
The US President and his wife Melanie begin their two day India visit from Ahmedabad on February 24 and  shall proceed from the airport to the Sabarmati ashram which was a key centre piece of Mahatma Gandhi’s struggle for India’s independence. Thereafter, accompanied by Prime Minister Narendra Modi they shall take part in an almost 20 km long mega road show that will lead them to the Motera stadium for an inaugural function replete with Indian corporate czars and cultural programmes.
The ‘kem chho Trump” later re-named as “Namaste President Trump” to give it a national appeal is a follow-up of the ‘Howdy Mody’ attended by Trump at Houston last year. Trump is on record stating that Modi has told him that millions will line up to greet him.
However, Gujarat’s three hours of American glory is a logistics nightmare for the state’s bureaucracy. With an advance party overseeing the security of US President Donald Trump laying down guidelines, the Gujarat administration is stretched to its sinews in compliance.
This is more so because Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants the stadium packed to the brim of its 1.10 lakh capacity and the roads en-route to be lined thick and deep. Not one to leave anything to chance, he will be in his home state a night earlier to review preparations.
Over 2,000 buses have been requisitioned to put together the required numbers from all over the state, a journey that needs anywhere from one to eight hours of overnight travelling time to reach Ahmedabad at 7 am and then walk to the venue.
Since no food items, not even water will be allowed to be carried inside the stadium, arrangements have been made for 7 lakh water cups, 3 lakh buttermilk tetrapacks, a 25- bed hospital, a hundred toilets and lakhs of caps carrying ”Namaste President Trump” logo to be worn by the crowd.
In fact, invitations have gone out to a galaxy of corporate czars including Mukesh Ambani,Ratan Tata, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Gautam Adani, Sudhir Mehta, A.M.Naik, Pankaj Patel with 6,000 seats reserved for Indian trade and industry.
The downside of this event and road show is that all business establishments including shops and eateries along the route have been ordered shut for the duration of the visit and residents of residential enclaves directed to remain indoors.
The larger area of the US president’s route will witness an almost total shut down. 
Trump comes looking for votes of expat Indians in an election year and we involve ourselves in the politics of another country
Those who would like to greet the passing President must submit copies of their aadhar card and mobile numbers duly verified by a bonafide office-bearer of the enclave which will then be exchanged for a police pass to be worn round the neck.
People lining up on the route as well as those attending the Motera stadium event have been strictly warned not to wear black or carry anything remotely resembling the colour ,not even handkerchiefs or dupattas as those sporting such apparel (construed as colour of protest) will not be permitted. The 25,000 police officers and men mobilised for the visit have been particularly warned to look out for any signs of protest.
The inordinately high expenditure being incurred on the event and the total exclusion of opposition leaders has understandably stirred up a hornets nest. The Ministry of External Affairs only added fuel to fire when it stated that the event was being organized by a ‘Donald Trump Public Felicitation Committee’.
Until February 20 there had been no signs of any panel nor any digital footprints with the government- both centre and state- directly in the picture. A day later the name of the Ahmedabad mayor Bijal Patel surfaced as its head. Speculation was rife that this was a way to avoid any scrutiny of the inordinately high and haphazard expenses being incurred.
Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala was quick to question the origins of the group. When was the invitation extended to the US President and accepted? Why is President Trump then saying that you have promised him a grand event with seven million people? Why is the Gujarat government spending Rs 120 crores for a three hour event organized by an unknown private entity?
Former chief minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Shankersinh Vaghela calls it a waste of public money that would be better spent on building schools ,colleges and hospitals. ”He comes looking for votes of expat Indians in an election year and we involve ourselves in the politics of another country. Will this ensure a change in US visa policy towards Indians?, highly unlikely”.
For now, Modi seems least bothered, with his one-upmanship set for full display. Earlier Chinese President X Jinping, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been feted in Ahmedabad.
It is his show of strength to the US President ,says a BJP leader. ”Then why not do it in Delhi which is the country’s capital”, counters the Congress opposition. “Is it not ironic that the man who made Gujarati pride his election plank all the time is subjecting his own people to such ignominy in their own land just to impress a foreign head of state. What does this show’, asks another former chief minister. He sure has a point.
In an unprecedented move, perhaps for the first time in the history of the state the annual budget session of the Gujarat Vidhan Sabha is being postponed from February 24 to 26 to facilitate a foreign dignitary's visit !
---
*Senior Gujarat-based journalist. Blog: Wordsmiths & Newsplumbers

Comments

TRENDING

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor*  This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Two more "aadhaar-linked" Jharkhand deaths: 17 die of starvation since Sept 2017

Kaleshwar's sons Santosh and Mantosh Counterview Desk A fact-finding team of the Right to Feed Campaign, pointing towards the death of two more persons due to starvation in Jharkhand, has said that this has happened because of the absence of aadhaar, leading to “persistent lack of food at home and unavailability of any means of earning.” It has disputed the state government claims that these deaths are due to reasons other than starvation, adding, the authorities have “done nothing” to reduce the alarming state of food insecurity in the state.

N-power plant at Mithi Virdi: CRZ nod is arbitrary, without jurisdiction

By Krishnakant* A case-appeal has been filed against the order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and others granting CRZ clearance for establishment of intake and outfall facility for proposed 6000 MWe Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) vide order in F 11-23 /2014-IA- III dated March 3, 2015. The case-appeal in the National Green Tribunal at Western Bench at Pune is filed by Shaktisinh Gohil, Sarpanch of Jasapara; Hajabhai Dihora of Mithi Virdi; Jagrutiben Gohil of Jasapara; Krishnakant and Rohit Prajapati activist of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the MoEF&CC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and case is kept for hearing on August 20, 2015. Appeal No. 23 of 2015 (WZ) is filed, a...

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

What's behind Donald Trump's 'narco-state' accusation against Venezuela

By Manolo De Los Santos  The US government has revived its campaign to label Venezuela a "narco-state", accusing its top leadership of drug trafficking and slapping hefty bounties on their heads for capture. This campaign, which only momentarily took a backseat, is a strategic fabrication, not a factual assessment. This accusation, particularly amplified under the Trump Administration, is a calculated smokescreen to justify a long-standing agenda: the overthrow of the Venezuelan government and the seizure of its vast oil and mineral resources. A closer examination of the facts reveals a country that has actively fought drug trafficking on its own terms and a US government with a clear and consistent history of destabilizing independent countries in Latin America.

1857 War of Independence... when Hindu-Muslim separatism, hatred wasn't an issue

"The Sepoy Revolt at Meerut", Illustrated London News, 1857  By Shamsul Islam* Large sections of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs unitedly challenged the greatest imperialist power, Britain, during India’s First War of Independence which began on May 10, 1857; the day being Sunday. This extraordinary unity, naturally, unnerved the firangees and made them realize that if their rule was to continue in India, it could happen only when Hindus and Muslims, the largest two religious communities were divided on communal lines.

Fate of Yamuna floodplain still hangs in "balance" despite National Green Tribunal rap on Sri Sri event

By Ashok Shrimali* While the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday reportedly pulled up the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) for granting permission to hold spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's World Culture Festival on the banks of Yamuna, the chief petitioners against the high-profile event Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan has declared, the “fate of the floodplain still hangs in balance.”

Ground reality: Israel would a remain Jewish state, attempt to overthrow it will be futile

By NS Venkataraman*  Now that truce has been arrived at between Israel and Hamas for a period of four days and with release of a few hostages from both sides, there is hope that truce would be further extended and the intensity of war would become significantly less. This likely “truce period” gives an opportunity for the sworn supporters and bitter opponents of Hamas as well as Israel and the observers around the world to introspect on the happenings and whether this war could have been avoided. There is prolonged debate for the last several decades as to whom the present region that has been provided to Jews after the World War II belong. View of some people is that Jews have been occupants earlier and therefore, the region should belong to Jews only. However, Christians and those belonging to Islam have also lived in this regions for long period. While Christians make no claim, the dispute is between Jews and those who claim themselves to be Palestinians. In any case...