On Saturday, a delegation of Kashmiri Pandits met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Houston ahead of the ‘Howdy, Modi’ mega event. The Kashmiri Pandit submitted a memorandum and thanked him for abrogating Article 370 while stating that 7,00,000 Kashmiri Pandits are indebted to his government.
According to the reports, the delegation of Kashmiri Pandits submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister in which they requested the PM Modi to set up a task force under the Home Ministry to bring the community together to develop the region and repatriate Kashmiri Pandits.
“We look forward to working with the Government of India and the newly constituted UTs to bring inclusive and sustainable development for benefit of all. We look forward to returning home in order to restore Kashmiri civilization’s core values of peace, pluralism, religious freedom,” the memorandum read.
The group of Kashmiri Pandits got emotional on seeing PM Modi as one of the leaders, Surinder Kaul can be seen kissing his hands to thank him. Surinder Kaul is the international coordinator of Global Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora (GKDP), a group representing the Kashmiri Diaspora across the world.
#WATCH United States: A delegation of Kashmiri Pandits meets and interacts with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A member kisses PM Modi’s hands and says, “Thank you on behalf of 7 Lakh Kashmiri Pandits.” pic.twitter.com/8xKBqNlOvM
— ANI (@ANI) September 22, 2019
The group of Kashmiri Pandits thanked PM Modi for the scrapping of Article 370 and bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories.
Surinder Kaul, who led the delegation, said, “The PM told us you have suffered a lot and together we have to build a new Kashmir. Our youth presented him with the messages that the community prepared for him. I presented a memorandum on behalf of the community. He gladly accepted that.”
Surinder Kaul: We thanked him on behalf of the 700,000 Kashmiri Pandits all over the globe for such a historic decision. We assured him that our community will work with the govt to fulfill your dream for a Kashmir which is peaceful, full of growth where people are all happy. https://t.co/soDTYdJaKH
— ANI (@ANI) September 22, 2019
Kaul added, “We thanked him on behalf of the 7,00,000 Kashmiri Pandits all over the globe for such a historic decision. We assured him that our community will work with the government to fulfil your dream for a Kashmir which is peaceful, full of growth where people are all happy.”
During the brief interaction, PM Modi also joined the group in reciting the ‘Namaste Sharada Devi’ shloka.
#WATCH United States: Prime Minister Narendra Modi joins in reciting ‘Namaste Sharade Devi’ shloka while the Kashmiri Pandits meeting and interacting with him also recite it, in Houston. pic.twitter.com/pXZdAuvEvG
— ANI (@ANI) September 22, 2019
Rakesh Kaul, Global Kashmiri Pandit diaspora said that the words spoken by PM Modi were an elixir for the community. He said that when they talked about Article 370, PM Modi said that there is a new breeze and they will build a new Kashmir. “We’ve hopes with PM, we’ll work with him and make Kashmir a paradise again,” added Rakesh Kaul.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Modi who is in Houston to attend the “Howdy, Modi!” event also met the CEOs from the energy sector on the first day of his week-long US visit. PM Modi met the CEOs of 17 global energy companies at a round table in Houston. The objective of the meeting was to deepen the energy cooperation of the two sides as part of the strategic energy partnership.
Following his meeting with the CEOs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also interacted with the members of the Sikh community in Houston. The Sikh community congratulated PM Modi on ‘some of the path-breaking decisions taken by the Government of India’.
Later, PM Modi also met a group of Bohra Muslims in Houston, who felicitated him and highlighted PM Modi’s association with Syedna Sahib.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the much-awaited ‘Howdy, Modi!’ event where US President Donald Trump will be joining him to address a mega rally. More than 50,000 Indians will be attending the event, which is scheduled to take place at the sprawling NRG football stadium in Houston in the largest gathering ever for an elected foreign leader visiting the US, other than the Pope.
From Houston, PM Modi will fly to New York where he will address the annual high-level UN General Assembly session in New York on September 27 and will have a packed agenda of bilateral and multilateral engagements.
