|
|
|
|
|
NY Diary  Once denied the visa, Narendra Modi is out to make the maximum impact on his first outing as Prime Minister in the US. His address to the UN General Assembly, interaction with the diaspora, meetings with corporate honchos and, of course, Barack Obama, all have been designed to announce to the world the new global role India sees itself in.by Raj Chengappa in New York
Modi has a mind of his own
In
everything that he does, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears to have a mind of his own and takes the final call on all issues major or minor. In New York, while preparing for his address to the UN he did take detailed inputs from all concerned. But he kept even officials guessing about what he would like to highlight in his speech. Apparently even while being briefed Modi prefers PowerPoint presentations and single-page sum-ups, wanting officials to cut to the quick and focus on outcomes. His questions are sharp and he is seen as a fast learner with an ability to strip briefings to the core issues swiftly. Unlike his predecessor Manmohan Singh, who studiously read out his prepared speech, Narendra Modi prefers to have palm-sized cards with points written in Hindi, which he then elaborates upon. On foreign trips, the two Prime Ministers are a study in contrast. Manmohan was far less articulate and almost reserved in his interactions but was widely respected for his economic expertise. Modi, the consummate politician, is far more at ease and expresses himself freely in one-on-one interactions with leaders. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse told The Tribune that he thought that Modi was a doer. In oratory many consider Modi as being in the same league as that of US President Barack Obama with an ability to wow audiences. But much of the respect Modi commands stems from the fact that for the first time in three decades the world’s largest democracy of a billion plus is run by a party that has a clear majority in government. And they were aware of who was responsible for the stunning win.
Nawaz Sharif’s alphabet soup for India
The
big question before the Indian Prime Minister arrived in New York was whether he would meet Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. But as it so happened, Sharif arrived a few days earlier and delivered his speech at the General Assembly on September 26, just as Modi checked into Hotel New York Palace. It was apparent by then that there was to be no meeting of the two, not even a handshake. By the evening Sharif had flown off, but not before stirring up a veritable alphabet soup of issues in his address that rankled the Indian government. At the UN, Sharif first uttered the ‘K’ word when he evoked the Kashmir issue, then the ‘N’ word when he wanted the world to give Pakistan concessions on nuclear trade as it did for India. And then the ‘M’ word when he went on to vehemently oppose India’s entry to the UNSC (United Nations Security Council) as a PM (Permanent Member), saying that there should be no new members inducted. The Imran Khan effect
In
New York, if Nawaz Sharif hoped he would get away from the shouting and flag-waving protesters that brought Islamabad to a standstill for the past month or so, it was short-lived. There is a vibrant Pakistan diaspora in the US totalling around 3.6 lakh with at least a quarter of them staying in the New York-New Jersey belt. And it was apparent that cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan had a wide following among them with hordes of his well-dressed supporters descending on the streets outside the UN Headquarters to protest against Sharif on the day he delivered his speech. Carrying flags emblazoned “We want a Naya Pakistan” and “Go Nawaz Go” they outshouted protesters from other countries who had gathered for other reasons. Among the protesters was Shabana Faryal, an investment consultant, who had travelled all the way from Atlanta and checked into Hotel Waldorf Astoria, where Nawaz Sharif and his entourage were staying, in an attempt to intimidate him. Faryal believes the only way Pakistan could move forward is by throwing out “corrupt and effete” politicians like Sharif and replacing them with the “clean and efficient” Imran Khan and his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Javed, a New York taxi driver, expressed a somewhat similar sentiment and said that never in his 30-year stay in the US had he seen such popular anger among the diaspora. For Sharif, trouble seems to follow him wherever he goes. Keeping door slightly open for talks
In
his address to the UN, Nawaz Sharif’s harshest criticism came on India’s handling of Kashmir, where he blamed the recent cancellation of foreign secretary level talks by India as “another missed opportunity” and said a “veil” could not be drawn over the “core issue”. He then reverted back to Pakistan’s maximalist position of a UN supervised plebiscite for Jammu and Kashmir to determine its status according to the wishes of the people of the state. While India promptly denied his charges the same evening at the US by exercising its right to reply through its representatives, experts reckoned that Sharif’s speech was on expected lines given that the on-going siege of Islamabad by Pakistan’s Opposition parties, particularly Imran Khan, had considerably weakened Sharif’s stature as Prime Minister vis-à-vis the Pakistan Army, leaving him little room to be conciliatory. The silver lining they see is that Nawaz didn’t go the whole hog as Bilawal Bhutto, the son of late Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, did recently. The young inheritor of the Bhutto legacy claimed that if he came to power he would “take back the entire Kashmir from India” and claimed it was another “province of Pakistan”. After Sharif’s speech the assessment was that the Pakistan Prime Minister had left the door ajar for talks with India. Learning from Maximum City
The
first US leader to call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he arrived in New York on Friday was the city’s Mayor Bill de Blasio. With a population of 8.7 million people New York is America’s most populous city and the Mayor’s post is considered among the most prestigious of assignments. Two former mayors, Mario Cuomo and Michael Bloomberg, were even in the running in the presidential election. With jurisdiction over all five boroughs — Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island — the Mayor controls a budget estimated at $70 billion — the largest for a municipality in the US. With Modi focusing on developing 100 smart cities in India, the Prime Minister quizzed the Mayor on how he goes about managing such a truly global city. The discussions ranged from the Mayor’s plans to build half a million houses over a 10-year period to how the New York City police transformed itself to tackle the security challenges faced after 9/11. Also on managing traffic jams that frequently disrupt the city. Early on Saturday morning, Modi paid a visit to the 9/11 memorial and paid homage to the victims before his address to the United Nations. Sushma plays vice-captain to Modi
With
a host of multi-lateral discussions at the foreign minister level scheduled whenever the UN General Assembly meets, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj came into New York ahead of Narendra Modi to participate in these discussions. Swaraj is said to be the perfect vice-captain for Modi, giving advice when called for and having enough clout to call up the Prime Minister or seek a meeting to sort out issues. US officials hosting Modi’s programme draw parallels between how Barack Obama chose Hillary Clinton to be his Secretary of State even though she had opposed his candidature when she made a bid to win the Democratic nomination for Presidency in 2008. Clinton then went on to serve Obama loyally till she formally resigned in 2013 and is now expected to make another bid in the 2016 presidential election. Though Swaraj is careful not to hog the limelight when Modi is around, she came into her own in New York while replying to questions on India-Pakistan relations. She minced no words when she said that Pakistan “spoiled the talks and the game” by involving the Huriyat, which resulted in the cancellation of foreign secretary-level talks. Swaraj had earlier famously said that “in diplomacy there are no full stops, only commas”. But the outcome of the duel between the two countries on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly is that the grammar has become so convoluted that no coherent outcome could be spelt out. The ‘Losers Club’ at the UN
While
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the UN General Assembly made a forceful bid for India to become a Permanent Member of the all powerful UNSC, Pakistan’s Nawaz Sharif vehemently opposed it. Pakistan is among the dozen members in the UN opposing any expansion to the current P-5 consisting of the US, Britain, France, Russia and China, who have a permanent seat on the Council. Called “Uniting for Consensus” and nicknamed the “Coffee Club”, these members have joined together to oppose seats for the G-4 group – India, Japan, Brazil and Germany – that have demanded that the Permanent Membership Council be expanded to accommodate them. Others deride them as the “Losers Club” because they know they could never make it by virtue of their current status so they are out to do the others in. So while Pakistan opposes India’s entry, Italy and Spain block that of Germany; South Korea and Indonesia target Japan; and Argentina and Colombia spike Brazil. India’s effort to gain entry into the Council has become more complicated with Africa and the Middle-East also throwing their hats into the ring for a seat in recent years. South Africa and Nigeria have set up their own proxies to do battle for the African seat while the Organisation of Islamic Countries demand a Muslim seat on the Council. Changes in the Security Council configuration require support of two-thirds of the members of the UN. The latest in the UN is that there is a demand for a consensus text to table a resolution for expansion. But with no consensus so far there can be no text and therefore no vote. So it is ending up like the chicken-and-egg conundrum. Game of thrones among NY hotels
With
over 150 heads of state flying into New York to attend the UN General Assembly, held usually in the last week of September, there is a huge rush for the best hotels in town. The preferred ones are those on the crowded streets of Manhattan, close to the UN HQ, that boasts of some of the most luxurious hotels in the world. For years Indian Prime Ministers had preferred to stay at the stately Waldorf Astoria on Park Avenue, among the oldest in the city, when they came to New York, mostly for UN Sessions. In recent years though the Indian contingent has shifted base to Hotel New York Palace on Madison Avenue. Owned initially by Henry Villard, a US railroad financier, it was built as a set of six brownstone townhouses designed on the lines of the neo-Italian Renaissance tradition. It was converted into a luxury hotel in 1974 with a 55-storey hotel tower coming up in the courtyard and was till recently reportedly owned by the Sultan of Brunei. Prime Minister Modi too checked into New York Palace. Pakistan’s Nawaz Sharif and Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse preferred Waldorf Astoria. Barack Obama also stayed at the Astoria. The prices of a suite in these hotels can range from $5,000 to $ 1,00,000 a night. Supporters of Imran Khan accused Sharif of blowing up close to a million dollars on hotel expenses. So far no questions have been asked on how much the Indian Prime Minister’s stay will cost. Making a splash, Modi style Never
the one to shun the limelight, Prime Minister Narendra Modi believes in organising events in mega style with mega effects. In the US, he has a point to prove. With him being denied the US visa as chief minister of Gujarat, his supporters among the Indian diaspora are now determined that his re-entry into the US should make waves across the country. So they chose to organise a mega rally in his support at Madison Square Garden on Sunday that would be addressed by Modi. Jagadish Sewhani, president of the American Indian Public Affairs Committee that is organising it, said they had initially planned to hold it at the New York Giants’football stadium that can accommodate over 80,000. This was because when Modi was chief minister they had planned to hold a similar rally years ago but had to cancel the show because the US refused to give him the visa. This time they were disappointed to learn that the stadium had already been booked for the ongoing championship rounds. For Madison Square Garden, which can accommodate around 20,000 people, the tickets that are being distributed free are already exhausted. The organisers say there is a demand for another 8,000. Over 30 Congressmen are expected to attend. No better way for Modi to cock a snook at those who had so vociferously opposed his entry to the US in the past. Why the silence over Khobragade ?
Barely
a year ago Devyani Khobragade, the then Deputy Consul General in the Indian Mission in New York, was arrested on charges of visa perjury and subjected to a humiliating strip-search. Khobragade had allegedly submitted false statements to obtain a visa for Sangeeta Richards, her domestic help of Indian nationality and was also charged of underpaying her in violation of the US labour laws. The resultant diplomatic standoff unhinged Indo-US relations for a while and may have been a reason for the term of Nancy Powell, the then US ambassador, being cut short. While Khobragade is back in India in an innocuous post, during the current visit of Modi the entire episode seems to have receded into the background. Earlier incensed Indian Foreign Service officers had demanded the government pay more to maintain domestic help when they are posted abroad. They had also wanted India to put pressure on the US to make an exception in the law for such domestic workers from India. Although Khobragade was given full diplomatic unity by a US judge, which enabled her to fly back to India, she still faces the charges and would be liable to be arrested and put to trial if she comes back to the US. MEA officials claim they are working on the exemption in the labour laws for Indian diplomats. But the silence over the whole affair during the current Modi visit is intriguing. Meanwhile, Preet Bharara, the Indian-origin US Attorney for the Southern District, who pursued the Khobragade case, is now among the contenders for the powerful post of Attorney General of the US. Khobragade may be out but she is certainly down and Bharara is definitely up.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
