Hindu Nationalist Group Condemns Modi For Expenses Related To Trump Visit

Shiv Sena, a regional Hindu nationalist political party based in Mumbai, has condemned Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for costly preparations ahead of the arrival of U.S. President Donald Trump next week.

Trump is scheduled to be in India on Feb. 24-25, with stops in New Delhi and Ahmedabad in Modi’s native Gujarat.

But Shiv Sena has said the pomp and circumstance surrounding efforts to impress a western head of state reflected the “slave mentality” of some Indians.

An editorial in Saamana, Shiv Sena’s newspaper, lamented that “Trump’s India trip is like the visit of a badshah [emperor].”

The paper added: “Before independence [in 1947], [the] British king or queen used to visit one of their slave nations like India. The kind of preparations going on from taxpayers’ money for the arrival of Trump is similar to it. This reflects the slave mentality of Indians.”

Shiv Sena was particularly incensed by a wall that is being constructed by local authorities in Ahmedabad – ostensibly to “hide” poor slums from Trump’s view.

“Is there any financial allocation for such a wall being built in Ahmedabad? Is the U.S. going to offer [a] loan to India to build such walls across the country?,” the editorial raged. “We have heard Trump is going to be in Ahmedabad for only three hours, but the wall construction is costing almost [$14 million] to the state exchequer, including [construction] of 17 roads in Ahmedabad, and building walls on these roads.”

Saamana added: “Narendra Modi is the biggest endorser of development. Nobody developed the country before him, and no one will develop the country after him… Why has it come to this that poverty needs to be concealed?”

Municipal authorities in Ahmedabad claimed the wall was approved long before Trump’s visit was announced.

Shiv Sena further alleged that Trump’s visit to Gujarat is simply payback for Modi’s warm welcome in Houston, Texas last year (where Trump spoke). Shiv Sena also claimed that Trump is seeking to gain the approval of Gujaratis settled in the U.S.

Shiv Sena also took issue with the U.S. Trade Representative removing India from its list of developing nations – a measure that will allow the U.S. to slap duties on goods from India.

"All the subsidies and benefits which India was getting would not be there now. Whenever a guest visits, he brings some gifts as a token of love, but President Trump broke the tradition,” read the editorial in Samaana. "While India is preparing itself for welcoming Trump, America has removed India from the list of developing countries. This is a big blow to our economy. With India on the list of developing countries, there used to be [subsidies] and tax benefits, now there will be nothing… This is a big crisis for India. India is miles away from the status of developed countries on parameters like education, health, employment, cleanliness and poverty alleviation. India is not a developed country and now it will no more avail the benefits that a developing nation gets. However, our Prime Minister will find a way out and will convert the bitter gourd sent by Trump into a sweet.”

Shiv Sena is also virulently opposed to illegal immigrants and generally hostile to Muslims.

A few weeks ago the party called for the expulsion of Muslim immigrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh.

"There is no doubt that Muslims of Pakistan and Bangladesh should be thrown out of the country,” Shiv Sena said in an editorial in Saamana.