Namaste Trump | SabrangIndia News Related to Human Rights Thu, 07 May 2020 10:28:40 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.2 https://sabrangindia.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Favicon_0.png Namaste Trump | SabrangIndia 32 32 Gujarat Congress to move HC over BJP’s “criminal negligence” in organizing ‘Namaste Trump’ event https://sabrangindia.in/gujarat-congress-move-hc-over-bjps-criminal-negligence-organizing-namaste-trump-event/ Thu, 07 May 2020 10:28:40 +0000 http://localhost/sabrangv4/2020/05/07/gujarat-congress-move-hc-over-bjps-criminal-negligence-organizing-namaste-trump-event/ A week’s lockdown has been announced in Ahmedabad and Surat seeing the spike in cases

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Alleging that the ‘Namaste Trump’ event organized by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Gujarat, was responsible for the spread of the Covid-19 infection there, the Gujarat Congress has said that it will drag the state government to the High Court over its “criminal negligence”.

In a video, state Congress President Amit Chavda said that his party would launch an independent probe in the matter by assigning a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and soon move the Gujarat High Court against the government.

 

 

The Congress has alleged that it will petition in the High Court for a probe against the state government, Donald Trump Abhivadan Samiti and Gujarat Cricket Association as due to the event, lakhs of people assembled in the Motera stadium and social distancing norms were violated resulting in “community transmission of Coronavirus, due to which Gujarat state has ranked as the second-highest infected state in the country.”

He said, “On February 24, US president Donald Trump had arrived in Ahmedabad with a huge number of security staff and delegation. Lots of other foreigners had also come. No medical check-up or screening was done of the foreign citizens. In one stadium, lakhs of people were brought in, while lakhs others were made to stand all throughout the route of Trump’s visit. There was violation of the norms of social distancing laid down by the World Health Organisation, and medical negligence as well.”

He also said that the BJP state government ignored all the warnings by the World Health Organization (WHO) and still went ahead with the event on February 24, thus putting millions of lives at risk. On January 30, the WHO had said that the “outbreak constituted a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHIEC).”

Chavda alleged, “On January 30, the WHO had declared a health emergency across the world. On January 31, even the United States had declared a health emergency in their country. On February 7, the Union health minister spoke in Parliament on Covid-19. Yet, after all this, the programme was given the green signal.”

Gujarat had reported the first coronavirus cases on March 20, after a man from Rajkot and a woman from Surat tested positive for the disease.

However, Gujarat BJP spokesperson Prashant Vala termed the allegations as baseless. NDTV reported him as saying, “Amit Chavda needs to understand that before Trump visits any country, a US team conducts a thorough inspection of the areas well in advance to ensure there are no security and health related risks, such as viral infection. Without such clearance, Trump never visits any country.”

He also said that Covid-19 was not declared a pandemic by WHO when the ‘Namaste Trump’ event took place. The event took place on February 24, and WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, he said. Vala alleged that Chavda was just muckraking as a part of vote bank politics.

Current Covid-19 situation in Gujarat

After Covid-19 cases surged to 6,669 in Gujarat after 382 new cases being reported on Wednesday, April 6 and 291 of them being from Ahmedabad alone, the civic authorities of Ahmedabad and Surat decided to close all shops, except those selling milk and medicines for a week. The order which is to come into effect from the midnight of May 7 in Ahmedabad and Saturday in Surat, triggered a lot of panic buying of grocery items and vegetables by the citizens, reported The Indian Express.

Additional Chief Secretary Rajiv Kumar Gupta, who was made the in-charge of Ahmedabad city on Tuesday held a meeting with officials of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) and issued an order saying: “All those working in shops like vegetables, fruit, grocery, provisions, supermarkets, ice cream parlours and people engaged in home delivery of these items as well as Swiggy, Zomato, Dominos and others become potent sources of infection for many. Therefore in the entire AMC area, all shops and home delivery services except milk and medicine shall remain closed for seven days starting from May 7.”

 

 

Surat Municipal Corporation in its order said, “Agricultural produce market committee markets, vegetable markets in all zones designated for farmers, independent vegetable stalls, fruit shops and sale of vegetables and fruits through any mode is prohibited from May 9 to May 14.” Branches of all banks, except ATMs will also remain closed in the red zones till further notice.

It was also reported that the state government had decided to suspend the distribution of free foodgrains for APL-1 ration card holders in Ahmedabad city. The distribution which was to start on Thursday has now been postponed to after the new dates being released.

The order from the lockdown came after an order from in-charge municipal commissioner Mukesh Kumar under Rule 11 of the Epidemic Diseases Act, for “effective implementation of social distancing and to minimise crowding to reduce the spread of infection in the city of Ahmedabad”.

Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah requesting a visit from the country’s “top three doctors” to guide those at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital on the best available treatments.

CM Rupani also suggested that Randeep Guleria, director of AIIMS Delhi, Dr Rajesh Chawla of Apollo Hospital, New Delhi and Mumbai-based pulmonologist Dr Rohit Pandit be sent for a day at the designated COVID hospital on Ahmedabad Civil Hospital campus, in a bid “to better direct the state and the doctors as well as the medical teams at Civil Hospital to reduce the high death rate while improving its rate of discharge”.

https://twitter.com/satishjha/status/1257997557726433280

As many as 27 people succumbed to the virus in the state on Wednesday — 25 of the deaths were from Ahmedabad.

Currently, Ahmedabad accounts for over 70 percent of the Covid-19 cases in Gujarat.

 

Related:

Gujarat’s Covid-19 recovery rate lowest in India!

Covid-19: Was Tablighi Jamaat event the only mass gathering leading up to the lockdown?

 

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]]> 120 crores public funds spent on Namaste Trump, but event organized by private entity? https://sabrangindia.in/120-crores-public-funds-spent-namaste-trump-event-organized-private-entity/ Fri, 21 Feb 2020 08:20:44 +0000 http://localhost/sabrangv4/2020/02/21/120-crores-public-funds-spent-namaste-trump-event-organized-private-entity/ Meanwhile Trump says Modi promised him a welcome by 7 million people, a figure higher than total population of Ahmedabad!

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On Thursday, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar informed reporters in his weekly briefing that welcome arrangements were being made by a private group called “Donald Trump Nagrik Abhinandan Samiti”. This has set the cat among the pigeons because Rs 120 crores worth of public funds are being spent on the visit.

When asked about why no opposition leader was invited to the “Namaste Trump” event that is to take place in the newly constructed Motera stadium, Kumar told reporters, “Let me make it very clear that this is an event that is being organized by Donad Trump Nagrik Abhinandan Samiti. They are the ones taking a decision on who (is) to be invited. So, this question has to be addressed to them.”

Kumar’s entire press conference may be viewed here. The mention of the private organizer is made after the 24:20 mark:

 

 

Interestingly, this organization does not have a website. SabrangIndia could not find any information or contact details of members or office bearers of the group. In fact, The Hindu reported that even the even in Gujarat, officials involved with preparations seemed unaware of the mysterious ‘Samiti’. “I don’t know about the committee. We are only concerned about the preparations and logistical support,” a top official told The Hindu.

This has led to sharp reactions from the Opposition. Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala has asked, “Who is the President of Donald Trump Abhinandan Samiti? When was the invitation extended to U.S President & accepted? Why is Gujarat Govt then spending ₹120 Crore for a 3-hour event organized by an unknown Pvt entity?”

Meanwhile, activist Saket Gokhale has files a request for information about the invitation extended to Trump under the US Freedom of Information Act.

 

Gokhale has also filed a request for information from the MEA under the RTI Act.

 

 

But that’s not all. In the latest inexplicable ‘covfefe’, Trump excitedly told reporters that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised him that seven million people would gather to greet him on his visit to Ahmedabad. Trump said, “I happen to like PM Modi a lot. He told me we will have 7 million people between the airport and the event.”

Here’s a video that Trump Tweeted:

While no one can blame Trump or any other celebrity of being excited to be greeted by 7 million or 70 lakh people, here are a few statistical facts. The entire population of Ahmedabad is 68 lakhs. A little over 1 lakh people can line along the street as Trump’s cavalcade passes from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (SVPIA) to Gandhi Ashram to the newly constructed Motera Stadium where the “Namaste Trump” event is scheduled to take place. The capacity of the Motera stadium is 1.10 lakhs.

This is Trump’s first visit to India and is expected to last 36 hours during which he is expected to visit Ahmedabad, Agra and New Delhi. In Ahmedabad he is expected to attend the “Namaste Trump” event jointly with Modi. The event is said to be along the lines of the “Howdy Trump” event held in Houston last year. Not much is known about what Trump is expected to do in Agra apart from visiting the Taj Mahal. But it does appear to cement Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath’s place in Modi’s inner circle as his state is the only other one picked for the visit.

 

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]]> Letter of Opposition to Namaste Trump https://sabrangindia.in/letter-opposition-namaste-trump/ Fri, 21 Feb 2020 05:36:19 +0000 http://localhost/sabrangv4/2020/02/21/letter-opposition-namaste-trump/ Opposition mounts on Modi govt’s splash for Trump show in Ahmedabad

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Image: PTI

Citizens voices have spoken out against the Modi Trump Extravaganza! Over two dozen well known, academics of Ahmedabad have written an open letter protesting against the construction of the wall near the Indira Bridge in the city in order to “hide the slums from the eyes of the VVIP visitors to Ahmedabad.” The letter, however makes no mention of the wall that has been constructed in the wake of the proposed visit of US president Donald Trump, allegedly in order to “hide” the sight of poverty during his three-hour visit to the city on February 24.

“If the government is ashamed of the slums, it should improve them, rather than demean them by hiding them from the VVIPs”, the letter, signed, among others, by Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) faculty Navdeep Mathur, Sebastian Morris Ankur Sarin and Reetika Khera, veteran economist Prof Indira Hirway, and political scientist Prof Ghanshyam Shah, states. It demands breaking of the wall, and allocating funds from the public exchequer for slum improvement.

“We also take this opportunity to oppose the awfully expensive ‘festivals’ that the government organizes frequently in the state. This is nothing else but utter wastage of public funds for the happiness of a few top leaders in the country. Such expenditure must be avoided”, the letter says.

In another similar voice of protest and dissent, Neeta Mahadev, well-known Gandhian activist, has floated an online petition, called Letter Opposition to Namaste Trump, which, even as condemning the construction of the half-a-kilometre wall and eviction notices to 45 families that have been residing in Motera for the past 20 years, takes strong exception to the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation spending Rs 85 crore to facilitate President Trump’s three three-hour visit. The petition seeks signatures by Saturday.

Letter of Opposition to Namaste Trump:

On Monday, United States President Donald Trump is set to address a crowd of 1.5 lakh people in Ahmedabad, surpassing the welcome that Modi received in the US at “Howdy Modi”. In preparation for this event, the AMC has cordoned off large portions of the city, erected a half kilometer long wall along Trump’s route from the airport, and issued eviction notices to 45 families, displacing a community that has resided in Motera for the past 20 years. The AMC has spent Rs. 85 crore to facilitate this three-hour visit, money that could have been spent on its citizens.

For those who have lived in Gujarat for the past decades, this privileging of foreign capital over local needs is sadly familiar. Large infrastructure projects, the most glaring example being the Sabarmati Riverfront Development Project, have time and again resulted in mass evictions and displacement, in the name of attracting Foreign Direct Investment. “Vibrant Gujarat” was likewise promoted as a mechanism to attract foreign business, thus further enriching the elites of the city.

In all of this “development”, many have been left behind. Alongside evicting vulnerable communities in the name of beautification, Gujarat has witnessed wide-scale violence against its minorities, increasing ghettoisation and the systematic erosion of democratic values, which continues today.

In addition to blatant attempts to create an illusion of a prosperous city, the State has reportedly instructed the police to deny permissions for protest for 15 days prior to Trump’s visit, infringing on the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution. While the “Howdy Modi” event in the US allowed thousands of protestors, the Indian state chooses to preempt any expression of dissent before “Namaste Trump”.

Both India and the US have seen the rise of authoritarian politics in recent years, with Modi and Trump at the helm. Trump has been unreservedly racist, Islamophobic, xenophobic and anti-poor since before he entered office. In the past year alone, an unprecedented 69,550 migrant children were separated from their families and held in government custody. The list of detained migrants included 52 Indian nationals, one of whom died in US custody in May of last year. Meanwhile, India is set to enact a National Registry of Citizens, which members of the European Union have warned could precipitate the largest statelessness crisis in the world.

While Trump enacted a ban against refugees and migrants from several Muslim-majority countries, India has enacted the CAA, a law barring Muslims from neighbouring Muslim-majority countries from receiving expedited citizenship offered to other minority groups.

With a spectacular rise in global fascism today, this alignment between the largest democracy in the world and the most powerful one is dangerous not only for India, but for the world as a whole.

We cannot in good conscience support this alliance between forces that are attempting to erode democracy and curb freedom of speech and religion. We cannot stand by as families are deprived of their homes in order to make room for those who wish to remove citizens from their countries.

We unequivocally condemn this fascist alliance, and urge the Indian State to prioritise the needs of its citizens over the greed of the global elite.

Signatures have been invited until February 22.

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