india

Updated: Feb 17, 2020 12:21 IST

The Shiv Sena on Monday accused the Narendra Modi government of trying veil poverty by building a wall to “hide homes of the poor” along the route President Donald Trump is scheduled to take in Ahmedabad during his visit next week.

Referring to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s slogan to eradicate poverty, an editorial in the Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ said, “There was a time when the slogan ‘Garibi Hatao’ was criticised, but it appears the new agenda is Garibi Chupao.”

Saamana also criticised the preparations in Gujarat to welcome Trump, calling it a remnant of India’s ‘Slave Mentality’ from the time when the country was ruled by British, and would gear up for a visit of a king or queen.

“Trump’s visit is scheduled for three hours, but the preparations for it are costing the country’s exchequer Rs 100 crores, including making of 17 roads in Ahmedabad, and building walls on these roads,” Saamana has said.

It has also questioned if Trump or the US would pay for these walls, and if they will be pulled down after Trump’s visit, or will continue to “choke the poor who live behind it”?

It also said that the American’s President’s visit would not help boost the rupee. “Trump’s visit to India is not going to stop the value of the rupee from falling, or put an end to poverty.”

The editorial also took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling him the “biggest endorser of development”. Saamana said, “Narendra Modi is the biggest endorser of development. Nobody developed the country before him, and no one will develop the country after him. When he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat for 15 years, and the Prime Minister of India for five years, why has it come to this that poverty needs to be concealed?”

Saamana called the ‘Kem Cho Trump’ event, planned in Ahmedabad part of a political understanding between Trump and Modi. It said, “Before the American presidential elections, Kem Cho Trump event is being organised because USA has a large population of Gujaratis.”

In Ahmedabad, Trump is scheduled to visit the Sabarmati Ashram and take part in a roadshow with Modi. The two leaders will also inaugurate a new cricket stadium in Motera and address a gathering with an expected audience of over a lakh people.