Ahmedabad to welcome US President with grand 'Namaste Trump' event: Ram Madhav

A grand public event - 'Namaste Trump' - will be organised to welcome US President Donald Trump in Gujarat's Ahemadabad during his two-day visit to India, said BJP general secretary Ram Madhav.

"A public programme 'Namaste Trump' to welcome US President Donal Trump will be organised in Ahmedabad. It will be a grand event. People-to-people contact has always been an important part of India-US relations and making the event a part of US President Donald Trump's visit is a reflection of that," Madhav told ANI on Tuesday.

"The programme is organised as a gesture from our side to reiterate our commitment to take US-India relationship to a higher level," he said.

Madhav stressed that Trump's visit holds immense importance for India as it will help in further strengthening ties between the two countries. "Trade will be taken to new heights during Trump's visit," he said.

The US President will reach Gujarat's Ahmedabad by noon on February 24 and is slated to address a mammoth crowd of more than 100,000 people which is expected to turn up for an event at the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad. The event is organised on the lines of the 'Howdy Modi' function that was addressed by the US President and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Houston in September last year.

Lambasting the Opposition for targetting the Centre over US President's visit, he said: "It is quite unfortunate that Opposition is indulging in such pitty domestic politicking ahead of the visit of an eminent world leader."

On Tuesday, Congress leader Manish Tewari opined that India should not hide its reality and it is absolute insecurity to project itself as 'rich and prosperous' nation.

His remark came after the Gujarat state government constructed walls on the roads to purportedly hide the slums during the Trump's visit.

"We are a developing nation, we have challenges, we should not hide our problems. We are a confident nation and we always engage with the best. It is absolute insecurity to say we are a very prosperous and rich nation,'' said Tewari.

Being asked about Opposition's claim that various Asian leaders have cancelled their visit due to Citizenship Amendment Act and scrapping of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, Madhav said: "The CAA and Article 370 are India's internal matter. If any foreign leader is interested in knowing about these issues, our diplomats are there to explain them. It is incorrect to say so as Vice President of Vietnam (Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh ) and Sri Lanka President ( Mahinda Rajapaksa) have recently visited here.