New Delhi:
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has shared a picture from Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi's USSR visit in 1954 to counter Narendra Modi's mega event at NRG stadium in Houston with the US President Donald Trump. Sharing the picture of Nehru and Indira's USSR visit, Tharoor first wrote that the Americans had turned out in large numbers to see the then India prime minister and her daughter despite any special PR campaign or NRI crowd management. When reminded that the image is actually from Nehru's Russia (then USSR), Tharoor put out another tweet accepting his error.
I am told this picture (forwarded to me) probably is from a visit to the USSR and not the US. Even if so, it still doesn't alter the message: the fact is that former PMs also enjoyed popularity abroad. When @narendramodi is honoured, @PMOIndia is honoured; respect is for India. https://t.co/9KQMcR0zTD
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) September 23, 2019
The first tweet:
"Nehru & India Gandhi in the US in 1954. Look at the hugely enthusiastic spontaneous turnout of the American public, without any special PR campaign, NRI crowd management or hyped-up media publicity," Tharoor wrote.
Nehru & India Gandhi in the US in 1954. Look at the hugely enthusiastic spontaneous turnout of the American public, without any special PR campaign, NRI crowd management or hyped-up media publicity. pic.twitter.com/aLovXvCyRz
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) September 23, 2019
The picture of Nehru's USSR visit was shared by Tharoor apparently to prove that the first Indian prime minister was more popular world leader than Modi as he fetched large American crowd even without any "NRI crowd management or hyped-up media publicity" in 1954.
In what is dubbed by the organisors as the biggest gathering to attend an event of a foreign leader on the US soil, PM Modi on Sunday addressed a mega rally at Houston with US President Trump. Over 50,000-strong crowd, mostly Indian-Americans from Texas, had attended the rally.
Modi was praised back home for getting such a massive support and a "rock-star" like reception in America and that too in the presence of the US president, who happily played the unusual role of warm-up act. Trump probably did that because Modi endorsed him for the 2020 presidential poll in front of tens of thousands of people from a crucial American state of Texas.
