Ahmedabad, Feb 24: US President Donald Trump arrived in Ahmedabad on Monday for the first leg of his India trip.
The Air Force One plane carrying Trump and his wife Melania landed at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel international airport here at 11.37 am, officials said.
It was scheduled to land at 11.40 am.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who reached Ahmedabad over an hour before Trump did, was present at the airport to welcome the US president at the airport.
In Ahmedabad, Trump will visit Mahatma Gandhi's Sabarmati Ashram, take part in a roadshow with Modi and jointly address over one lakh people at a cricket stadium, before heading for Agra to see the iconic Taj Mahal with Melania.
Trump, who is also accompanied by daughter Ivanka, son-in-law Jared Kushner and top brass of his administration, will get a taste of India's cultural melange during his high- optics Gujarat itinerary, after the bonhomie between the two leaders at the 'Howdy, Modi!' event in Houston last year.
The US president and Modi will participate in a roadshow from the airport to Sabarmti Ashram and from there to the newly-built Motera cricket stadium, where over a lakh people are expected to be present for the 'Namaste Trump' event.
Dance groups and singers from different parts of the country will be performing on stages that are dotting the 22- km route of the 'India roadshow' in the city.
Huge billboards of the two leaders and replicas of historic places in Gujarat have also been placed along the roads where people will greet the two leaders.
Over 10,000 police personnel, besides officials of the United States Secret Service, and personnel of the National Security Guards (NSG) and the Special Protection Group (SPG) have been deployed for the high profile visit.
The seventh US president to visit India, Trump on Sunday retweeted a video in which his face was superimposed on the hit Indian movie-character Bahubali, showing him as a great saviour.
Modi will accompany Trump to the Sabarmati Ashram, which was home to Mahatma Gandhi from 1917-1930 during India's freedom struggle.
Several world leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have visited Sabarmati Ashram in recent years.
Ashram secretary Amrut Modi said Trump will spend 15 minutes at the place.
"Trump will visit the 'Hriday Kunj'. If he wishes, he will spin a charkha (spinning wheel). We will also gift him a coffee-table book, and a book containing 150 quotations of Gandhi," the Ashram official said.
Hriday Kunj is a room on the Ashram premises where Mahatma Gandhi and his wife Kasturba Gandhi had lived for 12 years between 1918 and 1930.
The official said the US President would be briefed about Gandhiji and the importance of charkha as a symbol of self-reliance.
There will be a cultural extravaganza at the Motera stadium during the 'Namaste Trump' event, where Trump and Modi will address the gathering.
Bollywood singer Kailash Kher and some Gujarati folk singers will perform at the stadium, officials of the Gujarat Cricket Association said.
Students of various government and private schools have also been roped in to perform at cultural events and they have been practicing for days, an official said.
Billboards with slogans hailing Indo-US relations and having pictures of Trump and Modi walking together, shaking hands, and waving at the crowd during the 'Howdy Modi' event are dotting the city.
Comments
Good to see new names occurring to defame Minorities.. Keep going guys.. I guess many new names are on the way still to mock Minorities.. Good luck.. God Bless you..
Some in this thread are proud of being Hindu Nationalist and people like me are proud being Indian Muslim...
And thats why my country name comes first.....
Nevertheless, the so called fake bajrangis. chaddis etc... can't be called patriots of our country. because they dont beleive in unity and they always want to divide country in the name of religion and no matter how much they try.....they will never be successful
As a Hindu, I am proud of Nikhithraj , who had expressed anger against those who raise anti-national slogans and backstab motherland. Whatever my friend Nikhithraj had said that is 100% correct.
A SIMPLE TRUTH
80% of JNU students are Hindus, that is also from Northern India, where Northern India called as Hub of Hinduism.
How these people can be anti national or committed sedition.
The students and staff both are against the central gov't. They are indeed intelligent students, staff in JNU, unlike some others.
You Bhajees label yourself as the only Patriots and others as anti nationals. If you are a true patriot, be obedient to the National constitution. Even you are not a pure Hindu. You are spoiling the name and image of Hindu culture. Because of your ideology Hinduism is very faster diminishing and other religions like Christianity and Islam is growing at the fastest rate which was never before.
Any way, if not you, at least your offspring are coming out from your clutches and following the right path but not your portrayed Hindu culture. They will be real Hindus. If they are real Hindus, then they will choose what they have to be.
Its nice to see so many Hindu brothers and sisters are gathered in colourful function ...what is the main agenda behind this kind of gathering to prove what ? Provoke one community against another ? .. Its true government should take an proper action against goons who had called anti national slogan .. and its clearly shown who were there behind this drama.
As we all seen SDPI or any of its wing never done something wrong which divide india or effect our Indian democracy and it seems they are the who trying to save indian secularism, but we feel RSS and its wings always tried to divide india by religion or cast and they always raise their saffron flag instead of Tricolour Indian Flag.
People should think about political , religious or any party leaders, they are getting their daily bread from where ? Look at the past history of MP, MLA and other members ..they all given hate speech and recognized by people and later they forget them as well.
here we should use our common sense.. regardless of religion for our daily bread and other things we common man should work hard.. there is no logic behind hate one another ... no single common person will get tax free life, no one will wave up our utility bills or supply daily food ... so we all should stand as Indian to show the power of India ..
Hindu Samavesha - only hate and politics speech????
No any good message from the Hindu religion??
IF RSS AND BD HAS REAL LOVE TO OUR MOTHER LAND INDIA THEY NEED TO RAISE THE NATIONAL FLAG NOT THEIR SAFFRON FLAG ..
Y R U RAISING THE SAFFRON COLOR FLAG PLEASE DONT TEACH US THE TO LOVE THE NATION WE KNOW VERY WELL THAN UU
WE MUSLIMS AND CHRISTIANS AND OTHER RELIGIONS WE KNOW.. WE LOVE OUR INDIA MORE THAN UUUU ,
YOU ARE ACTING LIKE THAT U R THE ONE RSS AND BD WHO DIRECTLY FIGHT WITH BRITISH AND MADE INDIA INDEPENDENT..
.
U R ANTI NATIONALS ATTACKING CLUB, LADIE, BAR , COLLEGES SCHOOLS, BEEF EATERS, CHURCHES, MOSQUE ..
DID U HEAR TILL NOW THAT CHRISTIAN AND MUSLIM COMMUNITY ATTACKED THE TEMPLE, BARS, CLUBS? AND BECAUSE OUR RELIGION DOES NOT TEACH US THAT TO ATTACK THE INNOCENT ..
U R THE ONE WHO EDITED THE AUDIO OF JNU TO ANTI SLOGAN NOT US AND IT PROVED......
THIS IS U R ACCHE DIN WHA WHA WHA... U RECIEVED BIHAR RESULT RIGHT WAIT AND SEE IN FUTURE,,
SDPI is a part of BJP, they help gain more seats in recently held election....
oppose modi, oppose BJP, oppose RSS but dont support Pakistanis or who wants to divide India whose slogans are anti national.
anti-national elements who shouted anti-India slogans, should be detained quickly.
Anti-national slogans r not at all good.. But what our govt.is doing? shoot them to kill.
totally wrong statement.
My heart cries after seeing those people who shouted anti national slogans. Shame on you.
who gave rights to univ students to endorse anti India slogans, congress gaining, but still loosing, truth always stand next to BJP
Anti National Slogans are Minor Issues\ - Paid MSMS YET they all are barking endlessly over this issue!! Strange!"
Freedom of speech doesn't mean you raise anti-national slogans.
If anti-national slogans are raised & then they are supported,I think there can be nothing worse than that
I feel angry over anti-national slogans raised in some universities. this people should be in jail for life time.
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