Stage set for grand ‘Kem Chho Trump’ reception in Ahmedabad

Gujarat has selected a giant cricket stadium as the venue to host their most anticipated guests, US President Donald Trump and his wife First Lady Melania, when they will arrive in India on a state visit from February 24-25.Officials said over 1,00,000 people are expected to attend the event at the sprawling Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad.  The workers are giving a finishing touch to the newly constructed state-of-the art stadium, which is billed as the world’s biggest cricket venue.  When completed, it will overtake Australia’s 100,000-seater Melbourne Cricket Ground, currently the biggest. President Trump and his wife Melania will visit India at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the External Affairs Ministry had earlier said in a statement, adding that their visit would propel US-India relationship on a higher trajectory. This is his first visit to India as president.The grand event has been called ‘Kem Chho Trump’, resembling to Mr’s Modi’s Houston rally last year that was themed ‘Howdy, Modi!’ Mr Trump was guest of honour at the Houston rally in Texas, organised in honour of PM Modi and attended by over 50,000 Indian Americans. The Sardar Patel Stadium, previously called the Motera stadium, houses a main cricket ground along with two smaller ones, locker rooms, air-conditioned corporate boxes and a club house among others.Mr Modi has hosted many heads of state in his home state Gujarat when they visited India. President Xi Jinping, Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu and then UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had been to Gujarat. Melania Trump Excited About Visit US First Lady Melania Trump said she is excited about their visit to India. Prime Minister Modi has planned a grand welcome for the Trumps.”Thank you Narendra Modi for the kind invitation. Looking forward to visiting Ahmedabad and New Delhi later this month. @POTUS and I are excited for the trip & to celebrate the close ties between the USA and India,” Ms Trump tweeted.Before the stadium event, the US President will participate in a road-show, a 10-km stretch decked-up from the airport to the Sabarmati Ashram where he will pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi.