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Howdy, Modi!'- Thousands, plus Trump, cheer for PM Narendra Modi

image Prime Minister Narendra Modi with US President Donald Trump at 'Howdy Modi!' rally. - Reuters

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump shared a stage and showered each other with praise on Sunday at the “Howdy, Modi!” rally attended by upward of 50,000 people.

Narendra Modi began his talk inside the NRG Stadium, home of the Houston Texans football team, with a loud, “Howdy my friends!”

In his remarks delivered in Hindi, Modi said that he was “impatient to take the country to new heights” and that “today the buzz word in India is development.”

The event has given Modi, a nationalist facing international criticism over a recent crackdown in disputed Kashmir, a chance to energize his relationship with Indian-Americans who are active political supporters.

Donald Trump also attended the event. He called the gathering a “profoundly historic event”.

The US leader hailed the India-US relationship and the Indian-American community as he reached out to an ethnic group that voted overwhelmingly against him in 2016.

“You uphold our values, you uplift our communities and you are truly proud to be American and we are truly proud to have you as Americans,” Trump the crowd.

Houston is a rare Democratic stronghold in Republican-dominated Texas and serves as the economic anchor of a state that will be critical to Trump's 2020 re-election bid. Polls show tepid support by Indian-American voters, around 75% of whom voted for his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, in 2016.

But organizers of the “Howdy, Modi!” event that was kicked off with a 90-minute cultural program featuring 400 costumed dancers, were delighted to welcome Trump.

“His presence is an indication of his support and endorsement of the strengthening of India's relations with America,” said Preeti Dawra, a spokeswoman for the Texas India Forum that organized the event. “This event is about strengthening those ties.”

It was the first time Modi had addressed a large crowd in the United States, which is home to about 4 million Indian-Americans including about 300,000 in Houston and nearby Dallas, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of US Census data.

Some 19,000 people turned out for a similar event in New York in 2014, and Indian-American volunteers living in US suburbs helped run a telephone blitz of voters in India in the run-up to Modi's May re-election campaign.

Ketan Inamdar, who works in the administration of Houston's Democratic Mayor Sylvester Turner, and painted an American flag on his right cheek and an Indian one on the left said, “today we celebrate our community and its importance in Houston and all America,” said

“Trump is very welcome here today. This event is to build harmony and love,” he said, standing just in front of the dais. “Race, religion and political parties don't matter today.”
Modi for Trump 2.0

Narendra Modi cheered for Donald Trump’s 2020 re-election bid saying ‘Abki Baar, Trump Sarkar’, as the US president joined him at the mega gathering.

Modi and Trump clasped hands as they took the stage to a mix of drumbeats and cheers. Many spectators in the crowd of wore white T-shirts that proclaimed: “Howdy, Modi.”

“We in India connected well with President Trump and with the words of candidate Trump, ‘Abki Baar, Trump Sarkar’, rang loud and clear,” Modi said.

The slogan ‘Abki Baar Trump Sarkar’ was coined in 2016 by the Republican Hindu Coalition, which supported Trump and campaigned for him among the Indian-Americans.

Trump returned the compliment during his remarks, lavishing praise on Modi and calling him “a great man and a great leader.”

He also wished Modi ‘Happy Birthday’ and said the prime minister marked “another milestone” this week. Modi turned 69 on September 17.

He praised Modi for doing “exceptional job” in India and said Indians voted “overwhelmingly” for him.

Trump said if he is elected, India will have a “true friend” in the White house. He said “India can never have a better friend” then Trump.
Border security

Donald Trump in his speech, vowed to protect innocent civilians from the threat of radical Islamic terrorism and said border security is vital to both America and India as he emphasised on bolstering further the Indo-US security relationship.

Trump also said the two countries will soon sign several defence deals to bolster their relationship.

“We are committed to protecting innocent civilians from the threat of radical Islamic terrorism,” the US President said.

“India and US also understand that to keep our community safe, we must protect our borders. Border security is vital to the United States. Border Security is vital to India. And we understand that,” Trump said as Prime Minister Modi was seen clapping.

India accuses Pakistan of providing haven to the terror groups, which carry out attacks in the neighbouring countries.

“We are further taking unprecedented action to secure our southern border (with Mexico) and stop illegal immigration,” Trump said, to cheers.

He said illegal immigration is unfair to legal immigrants who pay taxes and obey laws.

During his nearly 25-minute speech, Trump praised Modi’s economic reforms and said these reforms had lifted more than three million people out of poverty. “And that is an incredible number,” he added.

“In both India and the US, we see something remarkable: Our people are prospering like never before because we are slashing bureaucracy and cutting red tape,” Trump said.

He then praised his own administration’s economic record, which he said includes 70,000 new Texas manufacturing jobs.

“Unemployment in Texas is currently at the lowest rate ever recorded in the history of our country, and unemployment in the United States has just reached the lowest level in over 51 years,” he said.

He said that over the last two years, unemployment among Indian-Americans dropped by one-third, Trump said.

Noting that the US is the No.1 producer of oil and natural gas on the planet, Trump said he was thrilled to hear about the Indian company’s pledge to purchase up to 5 million tonnes of LNG a year from the US, which could lead to billions of dollars of LNG exports to India in the coming years.”

“India has never invested in the United States like it’s doing today,” Trump said, “and I want to say, it’s reciprocal because we’re doing the same in India.”

Trump said that in November the US and India would demonstrate dramatic progress of their defence relationship, holding the first-ever trilateral-service military exercise between our nations - ‘Tiger Triumph’

Published on September 23, 2019
USA
foreign relations
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23-Sep-2019