Trump said Modi hard bargainer, Congress should not worry: BJP

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra. (File Photo)

Hitting out at the Congress for its skepticism over US President Donald Trump’s visit to India, the BJP Saturday asked the opposition party whether it had allowed former prime minister Manmohan Singh to “establish the kind of rapport that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has with international leaders”. He also underlined that the US President himself had said multiple times that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a hard bargainer.

While addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters in the national capital, party spokesperson Sambit Patra said, “Did 10 Janpath allow Manmohan Singh to establish the kind of rapport that PM Modi has with international leaders?”

Patra also wondered why the grand old party was upset when the country’s stature is being raised globally. He added that Trump’s visit will be a landmark moment in the Indo-US relationship and advised the Congress to “start taking pride in the nation’s achievements”.

“This is a meeting of the world’s largest and oldest democracies and it should be celebrated,” Patra said, adding that with PM Modi’s hardwork, India’s relations with other countries have further strengthened from Sochi to Mallapuram.