Literature Commission inaugurates Saudi Pavilion at Muscat Book Fair    Saudi Minister of Culture holds talks with his Costa Rican counterpart in Jeddah    Saudi Arabia cracks down on fraudulent Hajj campaigns, urges pilgrims to use official channels    Nammos Amala Resort to open soon with Saudi-Greek designs    Saudi Arabia completes 674 Vision 2030 initiatives, achieves 93% of KPIs as ninth-year milestone marked    MHRSD: 80% of recruitment offices are non-compliant with regulations    GACA chief chairs 16th meeting of the Steering Committee on aviation's strategy    Alkhorayef praises advancements in Al-Kharj food industries sector    At least 50 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza    Teenage girl killed in French school stabbing attack    Trump claims meeting with China after Beijing denies any trade negotiations    Police fatally shoot man at Toronto's international airport    Saudi Theater Commission launches its Work and Learn Project in UK    The season has begun — and one comment shook us all    Jennifer Lopez dazzles in Jeddah with a Formula 1 performance    Saudi Arabia open to expanded 64-team World Cup in 2034, says sports minister    Average life expectancy in Saudi Arabia rises to78.8 years    Super Max Verstappen scorches to pole with record lap in Jeddah    Film Commission launches 'Cinema' initiative to enhance content    Famed Philippine film star Nora Aunor dies at 71    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



With Trump by his side, Indian PM Modi set to fire up Houston rally
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 19 - 09 - 2019

With US President Donald Trump by his side, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will seek to fire up thousands of Indian-American supporters at a rally in Texas on Sunday, shrugging off international criticism over a crackdown in disputed Kashmir.
Modi is traveling to the United States to speak at the UN General Assembly, seven weeks after his government revoked the partial autonomy enjoyed by Muslim-majority Kashmir in a move that prompted anger in the region and in neighboring Pakistan, which also lays claim to it.
Before traveling to the United Nations headquarters in New York, Modi will address a rally at a stadium in Houston that Trump has also agreed to attend.
"The special gesture of President @realDonaldTrump to join us in Houston highlights the strength of the relationship and recognition of the contribution of the Indian community to American society and economy," Modi said in a Tweet.
Though there have been recent tensions between Washington and New Delhi over trade and tariffs, the two men have shown a warm personal rapport at previous meetings.
About 50,000 people have registered for the "Howdy, Modi" community event, at which Trump will also speak, the biggest crowd that the Indian leader has drawn after a rock-show like rally at New York's Madison Square Garden in 2014.
That was the first big attempt by Modi's ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to rouse the prosperous Diaspora in the United States — home to 4 million Indian-Americans — and lobby for India's interests in the way countries such as Israel have done.
Vijay Chauthaiwale, the chief of the BJP's foreign affairs department, told Reuters from Houston that Trump's decision to attend the event was a surprise, but testified to the power of the US Indian community as well as the importance Trump attached to bilateral ties, despite recent trade frictions.
"The strategic relationship is stronger," he said.
Modi's move to end the special constitutional status of Kashmir, where hundreds of people have been detained, mobile and internet services suspended and public gatherings curbed, has drawn expressions of concern from foreign governments, including the US State Department, which called for restraint.
Pakistan has condemned the crackdown and its Prime Minister Imran Khan, who will also be speaking at the UN, warned it would drive more of the world's Muslims into extremism.
Modi's supporters say he has won a diplomatic victory by getting Trump on his side. "They've developed quite a good camaraderie between them, leaders of the two most influential democracies on earth," said Shalab Kumar, an Indian-American businessman who founded the Republican Hindu Coalition, modeled on the Republican Jewish Coalition, in 2015.
"They're finally coming together on one stage, that's great particularly after abrogation (of Kashmir's special status). This is probably the biggest endorsement of the United States to Modi, that the move was the correct move."
In a statement confirming Trump's attendance in Houston, the White House said the president would discuss with Modi ways to deepen the two countries' energy and trade relationship.
Modi, whose domestic agenda combines a Hindu nationalist platform with pro-business policies, is popular among Indian-Americans, a group that has not traditionally voted homogeneously in US elections.
Democratic candidates seeking the party's nomination for the 2020 presidential election include Kamala Harris, whose mother was an Indian-American breast cancer researcher, and Tulsi Gabbard, a Hindu Samoan-American.
Trump had briefly raised concern in India when he offered to mediate the Kashmir dispute with Pakistan. New Delhi, which has long bristled at third-party involvement, said altering the status of the territory was an internal matter.
It has instead blamed Pakistan for trying to sow trouble there, an allegation Islamabad denies.
The Indian American Muslim Council said it planned protests at the Houston stadium against what it said were Modi's divisive policies. – Reuters


Clic here to read the story from its source.