NEW YORK, May 17: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address thousands of US-based Indians in a live video-conference this weekend, according to Jagdish Sewhani, one of the chief organisers of the event in the Tri-State area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
The event, part of some 10 others, is scheduled for May 19 evening at Secaucus in neighboring New Jersey, Mr Sewhani said.
Atlanta, Houston, Chicago and Toronto are among the other North American cities where the gatherings – Gujaratis and other Indians – would be addressed by the Chief Minister simultaneously.
Apart from Gujarati, Mr Modi is likely to deliver his 45-minute address in English and Hindi. An estimated 8,000 people were expected to watch and listen to the live speech of Mr Modi.
Last month, the US State Department announced that it would not issue a visa for Mr Modi because of his alleged serious violation of religious freedoms in his state. On a few other occasions also, it was reported that the US administration under former President George W Bush and current President Barack Obama have declined visa requests from the Chief Minister.
Asked why Mr Modi was addressing the conference from India, instead of visiting the US, Mr Sewhani noted that the Chief Minister has never applied for a US visa and hence the question of rejection of the visa request does not arise at all. “In fact, in my recent interaction with Mr Modi in Gandhinagar he told me this thing,” he said.
Though Mr Modi has not visited the US after becoming the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Mr Sewhani recalled that he had earlier visited the US on at least two occasions as a BJP representative.
Mr Sewhani said, though Mr Modi’s speech is expected to focus on Gujarat’s developmental work in areas such as industrial production and power generation, and his government’s other achievements for the last 10 years, he may refer to some national issues also. “We expect him and requested him to play a prominent role on the national stage, but he said as of now his focus is on Gujarat,” Mr Sewhani stated.
Mr Sewhani is a co-founder of Overseas Friends of BJP in the US. He is currently the president of America-India Public Affairs Committee, a non-partisan body that is promoting bilateral relations in various spheres.
In his AIPAC capacity, Mr Sewhani recently met in Washington with the new US ambassador to India Nancy Powell shortly before she took up her post in New Delhi.
(UNI)
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