At around 2.30 am IST, when most of the people in India were sleeping, US President Donald Trump was praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the White House after official level discussion. The warmth with which Trump greeted Modi, the US President pushing the chair for the Indian PM to sit on and sign, and the effusive praise for Modi was a sight to watch.
Replying to a question at the joint press conference, Trump said, “he (Modi) is a tougher negotiator than me and he is a much better negotiator. There is not even a contest.”
Welcoming Modi with a warm hug, Trump said, “We missed you a lot”. The US President also said, “He (Modi) is doing a really great job in India. Everybody talks about him. He is doing a really fantastic job. He’s a great leader”. While presenting a book “Our Journey Together” to Modi, Trump wrote: “Mr. Prime Minister, you are GREAT”.
Naturally, such words of praise coming from the President of the world’s most powerful nation for Modi, has caused a lot of heartburn to political rivals in India. The joint statement issued after Modi’s official meeting with Trump, named Pakistan on the issue of cross-border terrorism.
“The leaders called on Pakistan to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot attacks, and ensure that its territory is not used to carry out cross-border terrorist attacks”, the statement said.
Peeved over this, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry described the India-US joint statement as “one-sided, misleading and against diplomatic norms”. Trump announced that the 26/11 Mumbai attacks mastermind Tahawwur Rana would be extradited to India, describing him as and “evil” and “a very violent man”. Trump added, “there are more to follow and we have quite a few requests. We work with India on crime, and we want to make things better for India.”
On Bangladesh, when a reporter sought Trump’s views on whether the Biden government carried out a regime change in Bangladesh, Trump denied that the US “deep state” played any role. Trump said, “There was no role for our deep state. This is something that the Prime Minister has been working on for a long time, frankly, I have been reading about it. I will leave Bangladesh to the Prime Minister.” Trump’s remark about Bangladesh is quite important. In the recent past, during his election campaign, the US President had raised concerns over the attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh by Islamic jihadis. Trump, at that time, had issued a warning to Islamic jihadis active in Bangladesh.
The newly appointed Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard had also condemned atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh. Bangladesh’s interim goernment headed by Mohammed Yunus had promised to keep the Islamic jihadis on leash, which it has not done. On the contrary, violence against Hindus has increased in Bangladesh. Now, Trump has clearly indicated that he considers Modi “capable of handling Bangladesh”.
On the deportation of illegal Indian migrants by the US, Modi clearly said at the joint press conference that India had no objection if Indian nationals who have illegally entered the US are deported. Modi described illegal human trafficking as a global problem in which poor and middle-class Indians shell out big money to human trafficking gangs to enter America. Modi said, such gangs must be smashed.
At the joint press conference, one question was asked about Gautam Adani, Rahul Gandhi’s pet issue. When an American journalist asked Modi whether he had discussed with Trump the issue of a US Federal Court indicting Gautam Adani, Modi replied that as a Prime Minister, for him every Indian is part of his family, but “when two heads of government meet, they do not discuss issue relating to individuals.”
The problem is, whenever Modi wins laurels outside India, some of our own people here get peeved. For Rahul Gandhi, the ghost of Gautam Adani was the only issue that he noticed during Modi’s US trip. I think Modi gave a stinging reply on the Adani issue. Why should two heads of governments discuss Adani at their meeting when there are other more pressing issues on the table?
Rahul Gandhi and his followers did not notice the warmth with which Trump welcomed Modi, praised him as a “tough and better negotiator” and wrote about Modi, “you are great” on a book. If the US President writes and says good things about our Prime Minister, should we be happy or peeved? What Trump said about Modi is an honour for India. It is a fact that both Modi and Trump have pressing domestic issues on their hands, which are more important. Both leaders have been re-elected by the people. Both leaders have promised economic progress for their people. Both aim to take their nations to the pinnacle of prosperity. There will be negotiations and bargaining during talks and such issues are not sorted out in a day’s meeting. India-US relations are stronger than before. We should trust Modi. He is capable of dealing with Trump.
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