At the 'Namaste Trump' event at the Motera stadium in Ahmedabad, 120,000 voices cry out an exuberant ‘Namaste’ in response to US President Donald Trump's 'Namaste' at the beginning of his speech. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call, ‘Long Live Indian-American Friendship’, also received a similar response.”
The stadium was packed before Modi and Trump arrived at noon. They received a spectacular ovation when they strode onto the stage. Groups from several districts of Gujarat were spread across the stadium. The loudest roar of approval came when Modi and Trump addressed each other as ‘friends’.
The US president’s allusion to Bollywood blockbusters, his ‘chaiwala’ reference about Modi, and his appreciation of the contribution of NRIs in the US drew spirited cheers from the crowd. Moreover, the spectacle seemed to mitigate the effects of the scorching heat for the crowd.
Senior city police officials said that the bandobust at the stadium rivalled that for the annual Rath Yatra in Ahmedabad. “We had an extensive plan to handle the arrival of participants from outside the city to prevent jams on arterial roads and highways,” said a senior city police official. “We also scheduled the entry of people to prevent crowding outside the stadium.”
People were frisked by two cops simultaneously - one focused on the upper part of the body and the other on the lower part. “This allowed us to frisk each person in just five seconds,” the official said. “Still, it took about three-and-a-half hours for the stadium to fill up.”
To provide uniformity to the crowd, various groups had provided specially designed white T-shirts and caps to the participants. A few groups entered the stadium with saffron jackets with ‘Namaste Trump’ logo emblazoned on them. Legions of people wore Modi and Trump masks.
