NEW DELHI: Hours after Ahmedabad Mayor Bijal Patel claimed she had no knowledge about ‘Donald Trump Nagrik Abhivadan Samiti’, she was announced as its chairperson. The committee, according to MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, is the organising body for the ‘Namaste Trump’ event at Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad Monday that is expected to see presence of over 1 lakh people. Kumar did not divulge any details about the committee members.
A search for related website, members and other details about the samiti tuned futile. But late Friday afternoon, the twitter handle of the Office of Bijal Patel tweeted: “Hon. Mayor @ibijalpatel is the chairperson of Donald Trump Nagrik Abhivadan Samiti.” However, there were no other details about when the committee was constituted or other members. It was reported that another member include Durgesh Buch, President of Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industries.
Interestingly, Patel had earlier in the day said she has no idea about the samiti, but all arrangements for the roadshow and other amenities in the stadium were being taken care by the Amdavad Municipal Corporation (AMC). According to sources, none of the Gujarat government officials or AMC authorities had any knowledge about the samiti and they all heard it for the first time after MEA spokesperson announced it during routine briefing.