Namaste Trump’ committee holds secret meeting, media barred

Gandhinagar, The newly formed ‘Namaste Trump Nagrik Abhivadan Samiti’ on Saturday held a closed door meeting at the Circuit House in Ahmedabad regarding the ‘Namaste Trump’ event to be held at the Motera stadium on Monday.

Ahmedabad Mayor Bijal Patel has been appointed the chairperson of the eight-member committee which is responsible for organising the mega event.

However, sources said that till Patel was made the chairperson, she herself was not aware about the existence of any such committee.

Gujarat University Vice Chancellor Himanshu Pandya, Ahmedabad BJP MPs Kirit Solanki and Hasmukh Patel, Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) head Durgesh Buch, folk singer Bhikhudan Gadhvi, Gujarat Technical University Vice Chancellor Nalin Seth and an architect B.V. Doshi are the other members of the committee.

After the close door meeting, the committee visited the Motera stadium for an inspection. However, no media interaction was held following the visit.

Initially, the ‘Namaste Trump’ event was announced as a government programme and the government machinery was being used for its operation. But suddenly on Thursday, the External Affairs Ministry announced that the event was being organised by the ‘Namaste Trump Nagrik Abhivadan Samiti’.

After being named the chairperson of the committee, Patel has gone incommunicado and her cellphone has been switched off.