Trump is greeted by vast crowd in India
Biggest rally of his career as part of whirlwind visit
MORE THAN 100,000 people in India packed into the world’s largest cricket stadium to welcome US President Donald Trump at the start of his whirlwind 36-hour tour of the country.
Nearly everyone in the new stadium, in Ahmedabad, sported a white cap with the name of the event, “Namaste, Trump” or “Welcome, Trump,” and roared for the introductions of both Mr Trump and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Many also sported Trump and Modi masks.
But in New Delhi, police used tear gas and smoke grenades to disperse a crowd of clashing protesters hours before Mr Trump was due to arrive, as violence broke out over a new citizenship law that excludes Muslims. Anti-Trump street demonstrations also erupted in Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Gauhati, but not in the city where Mr Trump was welcomed to India.
Mr Trump’s motorcade travelled amid cheers from carefully picked and vetted Modi loyalists and workers from his Bharatiya Janata Party, who stood for hours alongside the 14-mile stretch of road to give the president a grand welcome.
Thousands lined his motorcade route, shy of the up to 10 million that Mr Trump speculated would be on hand.
A new wall was built in front of
US President Donald Trumps speaks to a crowd of more than 100,000.
a slum, apparently to hide it from presidential passers-by. Newlycleaned streets and planted flowers dotted the roads amid hundreds of billboards featuring the president and First Lady Melania Trump.
His first stop was a former home of independence leader
Mohandas Gandhi, before he departed for the biggest rally crowd of his political career where he basked in the raucous reception. He said: “Your nation is doing so well, we are very, very proud of India.”
Mr Trump’s foreign visits have typically been light on sightseeing, but this time the president and Mrs Trump ended the day by visiting the Taj Mahal.
Mr Trump will today conclude his visit to India with a day in New Delhi, complete with a gala dinner and meetings with Mr Modi over stalled trade talks between the two nations.
Your nation is doing so well, we are very, very proud of India.