“There is no reason for India to remain a poor country”.
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“My dear countrymen I would like to assure you that the dreams that you have dreamt, the dreams that every Indian has dreamt, the country has the capacity to fulfill them”, Modi said, addressing the crowd in Hindi. A youthful nation like India will not lag behind in development.
Britain, with $22billion investment in India, is the third largest investor overall after Singapore and Mauritius, and the largest investor amongst G-20 economies.
The Prime Minister Modi enters the event with UK President at Wembley.
He called it a “historic day” and attempted to counter accusations of neglecting minorities by paying tribute to Sikhs who had “spilled blood to protect Mother India”, although he was more reserved on Muslims, calling for a deeper Sufi influence. This includes Bollywood singer Kanika Kapoor of “Baby Doll” fame, pop star Jay Sean, and members of the Royal Ballet and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
Few hundred protesters today staged a demonstration outside Downing Street here against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the UK.
Britain is home to a 1.5-million strong Indian diaspora.
However, instead of saying ‘Acche Din Aanewale hai’ (Good days are about to come), Cameron made a slight variation.
“Mr Modi speaks of “Make in India”, then enables us to “Make it in India” by creating the right circumstances and opportunities for us”, she added.
Modi said India’s rankings had improved in ease of doing business and in fighting corruption.
Magnificent firework displays and other entertainment celebrating India’s heritage fill the Stadium with smiles and cheers, leaving audience on a natural high.
Shri Narendra Modi spoke of the historical ties and complementarities between the two countries. “This relationship has to be driven by private sector CEOs now”, Modi said.
PM David Cameron too addressed the cheering crowd.
Modi also spoke before Britain’s House of Commons in Parliament on Thursday, had dinner at Cameron’s 16th-century Buckinghamshire mansion and Friday, was greeted by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace. Newspapers like The Guardian, The Times and the The Independent gave quite a lot of space for the controversies surrounding Modi, the 2002 riots that took place in Gujarat when he was chief minister and the British government’s attitude towards him until 2012 when it warmed up to him.
Modi is being treated to full British pomp and ceremony on the three-day visit.
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In Turkey, Modi will attend the G20 Summit, chaired by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
