By Ritu Jha-
Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri did not confirm reports that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will visit the U.S. from September 21 through 23, will meet former U.S. President Donald Trump.
“He happens to be coming to meet me next week,” Trump had said during a Michigan rally, describing Modi as a “fantastic man,” while also describing India as an “abuser.”
Shalabh Kumar, a staunch Trump supporter, suggested that if Modi meets Trump, he may also meet his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.
“As head of government, he has to be neutral,” Kumar told indica, adding that the “Modi government has reached out to Trump, but there’s been no confirmation.”
Modi will be meeting President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at a Quad meeting on September 21. Quad is a strategic alliance between the U.S., Australia, Japan and India.
The next day Modi will address the Indian community at the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island. The day after he will speak at the United Nations.
It is not confirmed whether VP Harris will attend the Quad Summit or the Cancer Moonshot event, the latter addressing efforts to fight cancer.
Discussing the US and India relationship, Kumar said, a lot will depend on who’s the next president.
“If Kamala Harris becomes the president, Jammu and Kashmir and Article 370 will become a huge issue,” he said. “If Trump becomes the president, then J&K and Article 370 will be a non-issue.” Article 370, which bestowed special status on the state of Jammu and Kashmir, was abrogated by the Modi government, to much criticism.
The Trump surrogate said that while there is no official word that the Modi government prefers Trump more than Kamala.
“The Modi government cannot come out and say that India prefers Trump,” Kumar said. “It’s just not proper protocol. But internally, the choice is obvious… The Modi government wants Trump because that is likely to trigger an increase in trade between the two nations, cooperation on many fronts like the military sector, support on anti-China issues, and a host of other issues. There’s a lot of internal conversation in the Modi government on this issue, but I’m not going to breach their confidence.”
