NO BIG DEALS, BUT PLENTY OF TAKEAWAYS

The Prime Minister left the US a satisfied man. There were no big achievements. But, as some experts said, this trip was all about the basics — about Modi and Obama getting to know each other.

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Wednesday ter med “disappointing on outcomes” Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s US visit, saying there were “no major takeaways” from the “much-hyped” trip.

Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma also accused the Prime Minister of “hurting” the dignity of the post by “belittling” the previous Indian governments on a foreign soil.

“It is a matter of concern for any political party or the nation if someone believes everything good has happened only during his time. We wonder whether he had gone there on an election campaign or was suddenly reminded of his parliamentary constituency Varanasi,” he said.

Claiming that Modi spoke during the visit as if he was still in the “campaign mode”, Sharma said an “atmosphere of a grand event was created with the help of cheerleaders many of whom were brought from India”.

Sharma said the visit was expected to see some concrete decision on signing the Indo-US nuclear accord, resolution of the issue of H1 B visa besides the totalisation agreement.

“Nothing was done. The Prime Minister’s visit was disappointing. Nothing happened, which brought any new turn in the Indo-US relations...when you look at the outcomes, it is definitely disappointing,” he said and quoted BJP patriarch L K Advani to conclude that Modi is a very good “event-manager”.

Sharma’s colleague Captain Amarinder Singh said Modi’s stand on economy was “vague at best and self contradictory at worst”.