Indian PM Narendra Modi 'belittled position' by pandering to Ivanka Trump, claims opposition

The first daughter travelled to India for a summit on women in the workforce

Emily Shugerman
New York
Wednesday 29 November 2017 16:14 GMT
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Advisor to the US President Ivanka Trump looks on during a panel discussion at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit
Advisor to the US President Ivanka Trump looks on during a panel discussion at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit

Opposition groups have slammed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “belittling” his position by attending a summit with Ivanka Trump.

Mr Modi attended the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Hyderabad, which was co-hosted by India and the US. Ms Trump, the American first daughter and presidential adviser, lead a 350-person US delegation to the event, which focused on women in the workplace.

Opposition leader Anand Sharma, of the Congress party, was not pleased by Mr Modi’s attendance at the event.

"We are surprised that India has a Prime Minister who has belittled his office yesterday by being in attendance for Ivanka Trump,” he told ANI.

The party leader claimed Mr Modi could easily have sent someone else to the event in his place, and implied the Prime Minister was seeking foreign approval by attending.

“That shows that he is seeking certificates either from the dubious rating agencies or he has got a certificate yesterday from Ivanka Trump, who perhaps does not know the local language at all,” he said.

The three-day summit, themed "Women First, Prosperity for All," featured speeches by both Mr Modi and Ms Trump. The first daughter, a go-to spokesperson on women’s issues for the Trump administration, heaped compliments on the Indian Prime Minister in her speech.

"What you are achieving here is truly extraordinary," she said, in a speech broadcast live on most major Indian news channels. "From your childhood selling tea to your election as India's prime minister, you've proven that transformational change is possible."

Ms Trump also praised her father’s administration for empowering women worldwide through "domestic reforms and our international initiatives." But back in the US, several activists put the spotlight on practices at Ms Trump's own business.

Just this month, 23 workers’ rights groups called on the first daughter to release more information on her factories and “raise standards for workers in the United States and around the globe, especially those that make clothing bearing your name.”

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Mr Modi used his speech largely to speak of women’s contributions in India, from the women in the country’s space programme to the three female High Court judges. The country is ranked 120th out of 130 for women’s workforce participation by the World Bank.

After the summit, the Prime Minister took Ms Trump for dinner at a luxury hotel. The city began preparing for the first daughter’s arrival a month beforehand, rounding up beggars off the streets and filling potholes in the road, according to the Associated Press.

Ms Trump rated her visit to Hyderabad positively.

"Prime Minister Modi and his Cabinet members with him were incredibly warm and I think it was a very enlightening and inspiring summit for all those who attended," she told reporters. "Certainly it was for me."

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