Indian diplomats abandon plans to hold public meeting for PM Modi in U.S

NEW DELHI – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not hold a public meeting during his trip to the United States in June.

According to a report in the Economic Times, his advisers had made every effort to organize a joint rally of Modi and U.S. President Joe Biden.

In 2019, Modi invited Donald Trump to his rally in Houston to demonstrate his support among Indians living abroad.

The newspaper claimed that there was a plan to organize such a rally in Chicago and invite Biden.

Three different stadiums on three different dates had also been reserved. 

But the plan was abandoned.

Now that there is no pomp, Indian diplomats are coming up with something innovative and practical where Biden could appear along with Modi to show “togetherness.”

Indian diplomats had also tried to arrange for Modi to address a joint session of the U.S. Congress. It was believed that he would be the first Indian prime minister to receive the honor twice.

Ro Khanna, a Democrat, and co-chair of the India Caucus had told Indian lobbyists that he would write to Speaker McCarthy to invite Modi.

On the other hand, the Indian news agency ANI reports that opposition Congress Party leader Rahul Gandhi will hold a rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden on June 4. He will arrive in the U.S. on May 31.

He will also travel to Washington and California to deliver a panel discussion and speech at Stanford College.

In March 2023, Gandhi delivered a speech at Cambridge College in which he criticized the Modi government and highlighted the strain on Indian democracy.