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
This is a advance education era. Most of the grown up childrens are well capabe to understand what is good what us bad. What is God's Creation and what is not. In our Inpendence country every one have right to choose their choice.
Orthere no need to interfere or they have right to do any forcefull act fo
Convert the rest or to do forcefull Ghar Wapsi.
Trust street mongers will stop these non sense activity.
Some one faught with his father n left home. Some mentally group's trying to create communal tension in South Kanara surroundings.
State Govt n dept must take strict action n send them behind bar for at least 6 months period is the only right remedy.
Jai Hind
bjp has no other issue and that is the reason they take up converion issue. Its cleared by Police Dept that no case of forced conversion taken place in Suliya. Based on this, Police should ban hate mongers from giving any speech and ban these terrorist organisations.
More & More people converted to Islam in USA & Britain so that they can create another Afaghanistan & Syria
Bopanna...
I feel you need more education on God... U look dumb when u dont study about your enemies.. Dont just depend on cheddis fed info on islam...
Use your own intellect and read your enemies book The QURAn...
I will help U ... read online theQuranProject , well explained for people like you... Try it man.
Another pillar of Islam
1. Bombs
@Sangeeth, Mangalore
Yes! they converted because of listening to zakir naik's speeches. Because he speak the truth. and they liked the truth.
Entire Karnataka incluidng Dakshina Kannada is crying for drinking water. But these shakunis are worried about religious conversions.
I want to ask the bunch of jokers in this forum - Viren, Yogesh & Sangeeth
Your voice speaks that you are really worried of growing popularity of Islam
Why do you think people are forcibly converted? Are they illiterates ?
You will agree to the fact that in this modern age, each product has its own USP and just imagine why there are more Airtel subscribers in the country compared to other telecom providers ?
Are the customers compelled to subscribe for their product ? In this age, every individual are smart enough to decide which one suites him.
So it is foolish to tell people are being converted forcibly
Yogesh...how innocent Hindus became chaddis...this is mind wash from terrorist group RSS
@Yogesh
UK's No 1 News channel
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1343954/100-000-Islam-converts-…
@Yogesh proof for yogesh
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1343954/100-000-Islam-converts-…
http://www.ibtimes.com/muslims-america-more-latinos-converting-islam-us…
CELEBRITIES WHO CONVERTED TO ISLAM, SO MANY
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_converts_to_Islam
And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him) ?3:85?.
In this Ayah ?3:19?, Allah said, asserting that the only religion accepted with Him is Islam,
No other religion book says. We dont benifit by converting u people, u are getting benifitted.
At the end of the day, those who doesnt follow and practice islam. He will be the loser.
More educated person is converting to islam than non educated ones.
Highest people are converting islam is from britain and america. There is no pint of force converting.
After 9/11 to prove quran wrong. many started to studing quran, they found that it is the true peace religion. And the terrorists are doing anti islamic. Against islam. So many people converted stil now people are converting.
Many big celebrities like mohammed ali, tyson, tony blairs sister are all converted to islam
please note that hindus converting to islam because of some hate speeches made by hindu leaders like kalladka
@VIren
U should Thank Arabs, the word Hindu is given by Arabs.
The actual Religion is named as Sanathan Dharm. Which nobody Follows.
@viren
How Hindu Population is Increasing, Show me a single Person who converted from Islam to Hindu.
i think u r just telling Opposite,
Plz Check, Ur family Members might have converted to Islam.
Police should arrest all PFI goons , hindu population is increasing day by day and PFI aware about it
Just say in ur heart, La ilaaha illalla Muhammed arra Soorula, u Have passed first stage of islam. No body can stop it.
This is the power of islam.
The Five Pillars consist of:
Shahadah: sincerely reciting the Muslim profession of faith.
Salat: performing ritual prayers in the proper way five times each day.
Zakat: paying an alms (or charity) tax to benefit the poor and the needy.
Sawm: fasting during the month of Ramadan.
Hajj: pilgrimage to Makkah.
No other religion book says so.
Hindus make idols, But i think, the man who makes the idol. is greater than idol.
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