Trump visit: India builds wall
A HALF-kilometre brick wall has been hastily erected in India’s Gujarat state ahead of a visit by US President Donald Trump, with critics saying it was built to block the view of a slum area inhabited by more than 2 000 people.
“Since they are spending so much money on this wall, why not use that to improve our slum and provide better facilities for us,” said Keshi Saraniya, a resident. “Why are they hiding us poor people?”
Trump is visiting the city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat during a twoday trip to India next week to attend an event called “Namaste Trump,” which translates to “Greetings, Trump,” at a cricket stadium along the lines of a “Howdy Modi” rally he hosted for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Houston last September.
Trump is to drive along a road next to the slum and will be accompanied by Modi, who is from Gujarat.
Senior government official Bijal Patel said the wall was built “for security reasons” and not to conceal the slum. Several political leaders were quick to criticise the wall’s construction, questioning Modi’s development work in his own state. Modi was chief minister of Gujarat for 12 years before becoming the country’s prime minister in May 2014. Authorities had also served eviction notices to 45 families living in another slum area near the cricket stadium. The residents said they were asked to leave because of the upcoming event, but the city’s civic body denied it. Kishore Varna, a government official, said the land belongs to the civic body and evictions were done under the law.
Meanwhile, in New Delhi, members of the Hindu Sena, a right-wing fringe group, have begun rehearsing a welcome song in Trump’s honour. Its members say he shares their hatred of Islamic extremism, and it has drawn attention for boisterous celebrations of his birthday, including pretending to feed cake to photos of his face.
Trump is visiting India on February 24-25. His visit is aimed at smoothing ties strained by trade disputes and could also allow him to woo tens of thousands of Indian-American voters ahead of the US presidential election.
Trade tensions between the two countries have escalated since the Trump administration levied tariffs on steel and aluminium from India.
India responded with higher tariffs on agricultural goods and restrictions on US medical devices, prompting the US to retaliate by removing India from a decades-old preferential trade programme. Trump’s itinerary will start in the western city of Ahmedabad, where he will visit the former home of independence hero Mahatma Gandhi and address an estimated 125 000 people at a rally. He is due in the capital the following day.