Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu were in Ahmedabad for a host of events on Wednesday. After visiting the Sabarmati Ashram and paying floral tributes to the Father of the Nation at the culmination of a mega roadshow in a bullet-proof vehicle from the Ahmedabad airport, they inaugurated an iCreate Centre at Bavla and and addressed a gathering of youth. They had lunch at the centre along with prominent industrialists.
They were scheduled to visit a horticultural centre near Prantij and addressed a congregation of agricultural experts and farmers.
Earlier, Mr. Modi received Mr. Netanyahu and his wife Sara Netanyahu at the airport.
Wednesday’s visit is Mr. Modi’s first to his home State after the Assembly elections.
iCreate Centre inauguration
Mr. Modi and Mr. Netanyahu jointly inaugurated the iCreate Centre at Deo Dholera village. iCreate or the International Centre for Entrepreneurship and Technology, formed in 2011 as an autonomous institution to nurture aspiring entrepreneurs, has tie-ups with leading Israeli firms.
Mr. Modi said:
"When I went to Israel last year, I made up my mind that this foundation should have more strong relations with Israel. From that time, I was waiting for my friend Benjamin Netanyahu to come to India. He is here & now we are inaugurating this foundation.
"When a farmer sows a small plant, coming generations receives fruits of that huge tree. The farmer's soul feels elated with this. We are feeling the same happiness on the inauguration of iCreate.
"My motive was that this institution and our youth is benefited by Israel's experience & their start-up environment.
"Israel has proved it to the world that commitment of the people, not size of the nation takes the country forward."
Quoting the former President of Israel, Shimon Peres, Mr. Modi said innovation had the bigger role in taking people of India and Israel together. "The greater the dream, the more spectacular will be the results," he noted.
Kite-flying at Sabarmati Ashram
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara Netanyahu record their impressions on the visitors’ book at Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad on January 17, 2018.
Mr. Netanyahu and his wife described Mahatma Gandhi as one of the great prophets of humanity. In a four-line message jointly signed by him and his wife Sara in the visitors’ book at the ashram, the dignitaries said their “visit was inspiring.”
“An inspiring visit to the hearth of one of humanity’s great prophets of inspiration — Mahatma Gandhi,” they wrote.
Earlier, they spent around 20 minutes in the ashram, visiting ‘Hriday Kunj’, home of Mahatma Gandhi.
They tried their hands at the ’charkha’, the hand-spinning wheel that was emblematic of India’s quest for self-reliance during the freedom struggle.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart examine a kite as the Israeli PM's wife Sara looks on, at the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
They also flew kites for a couple of minutes, as their visit comes just a few days after ‘Uttarayana’ (or Makar Sankranti), Gujarat’s popular kite festival.
Gandhi had spent a large part of his life in the Sabarmati Ashram after he returned to India from South Africa to lead India’s non-violent freedom struggle. He left the ashram in 1930 when he took out the Dandi March, with a vow not to return to the place till India got independence.
A travel through 50 stages
Earlier Mr. Modi and the Netanyahus set out in a car from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Airport and travelled through the over 50 stages set up along the route jointly by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and the Gujarat government.
Tight security
The roadshow was heavily guarded by security forces, including Israeli snipers. About 50,000 people were expected to be present at the roadshow. A one km-periphery was turned into a fortress for almost half a day, with 12 teams of the 'Chetak commandos,' the Quick Response Teams, the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad and police guarding it
Special squads were deployed at high-rise buildings along the route and also on speedboats on the Sabarmati river. Spectators participating in the roadshow had to go through door-frame metal detectors at the 20 special entry gates erected for the purpose.
Civic authorities closed many of the roads adjoining the roadshow route. The authorities also closed till noon the RTO office which is in the vicinity of the ashram.
The stages on the roadshow depicted Gujarat’s cultural and heritage values by various artistes. There were artistes from 22 States showcasing their traditional art and dances.
Earlier visits by other dignitaries
Mr. Modi and Japanese premier Shinzo Abe had held a joint roadshow during the latter’s visit to Ahmedabad in September 2017. Mr. Modi had shown Mr. Abe and his wife around at the Sabarmati Ashram, where Mahatma Gandhi had stayed for a long time.
They had spent some time at the Sabarmati Riverfront, developed during Modi’s tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister.
Mr. Modi also accompanied Chinese President Xi Jinping and his spouse to the riverfront during the latter’s India visit in 2014.
(With inputs from news agencies)
