A day ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ’s speech to NRIs at the Allphones Arena in Sydney’s Olympic Park, organisers said they had planned an event in Sydney’s “Little India” area at Harris Park and planned to distribute “Namo sweets” and “Namo tattoos” in Mr. Modi’s honour.
Nearly 300 members of the Indian community are also expected to travel by a specially designated train from Melbourne to Sydney, to attend the event.
Professor Srikanth Kondapalli from Jawaharlal Nehru University said that Mr. Modi’s meet with the diaspora during his visit to Sydney and later at Suva in Fiji, “suggests a pattern.”
“Clearly, the message is to rope in the Indian diaspora in a two-pronged way. On the one hand, he is factoring in the cash reserves of the prosperous community, as well push for a revival in a community that is normally quite conservative,” he said.
The Congress, on Sunday, accused the government of “flying people in to boost numbers” at Mr. Modi’s events. Speaking to presspersons, spokesperson Salman Khurshid said it was “easy to gather an Indian crowd and give speeches. The PM should, instead give some time to Indians living in Australia also.”
Rejecting the claim, BJP leaders in Australia said that Mr. Modi was receiving support from “across the spectrum.” “The Indian Muslim Council has also written to the PM and wants to participate in the event. It means, irrespective of party, religion, and region, people are coming to see him,” Mr. Madhav said.
