Editorial with Sujit Nair | Why Is PM Modi Not Invited To Donald Trump’s Swearing-In?

[00:00:00] Namaskar Welcome to another episode of editorial. Our Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi is said to be very close to President-elect Mr. Donald Trump. But what is the problem? The problem is that Donald Trump somehow hasn't invited Mr. Narendra Modi for his swearing-in ceremony.

[00:00:29] Why? Let's discuss. Let's get right to the show. Now, before we get into the topic, let us first understand that it is not a trend or it is not a regular tradition in United States to elect foreign leaders for their president swearing-in ceremony.

[00:00:56] It is not a trend. In fact, this possibly would be the first time that multiple foreign leaders have been invited for the swearing-in ceremony of President Donald Trump or President-elect Donald Trump. So, that's where it stands. That's point number one. I want to start with that.

[00:01:16] Now, point number two is today the Government of India announced that the External Affairs Minister Dr. Jay Shankar is going to attend the swearing-in ceremony on the 20th of January 2025 of President-elect Donald Trump. And he will be representing, that is Dr. Jay Shankar will be representing India. TK. Chalo.

[00:01:45] Now, the problem is like I told you before, it is not a tradition that America calls. But then why are we then talking about it? We are talking about it because the President-elect has invited a lot of global leaders for his swearing-in ceremony. So, actually a lot of it was kind of given that, yeah, he will invite his best friend Mr. Narendra Modi also. But that didn't happen.

[00:02:11] You see, amongst the people that the President-elect invited was Chinese President. This is the big surprise. Chinese President Jinping was invited for the swearing-in ceremony. Argentinian President Xavier Maile was invited. Italian President Giorgia Meloni was invited. El Salvador's President Naib Bukele was invited. Oban Victor was invited, the Hungarian President.

[00:02:38] And of course, Ukraine's President Vladimir Zelensky was invited. Modi not invited. Why? Now, before we get into why and all that, let us start with the current Indo-American relationship. You see, Indo-American relationship, especially after Trump has taken over, is not at its peak and all that.

[00:03:08] It could improve. I am not saying no. It is not at its peak. I will tell you why. Because, the Trump administration, in fact, Trump had mentioned that he will be raising tariffs against India and other BRIC countries who were talking an alternative to American dollars. BRICS countries, that is Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. It was BRIC before. It became BRICS later on.

[00:03:38] South Africa was added later on. But, these countries were talking an alternative for American dollars. Trump said, you talk alternative for American dollar, alternate currency that is for American dollar, we will raise tariffs on you. That is going to affect India very badly. That is going to affect Indian economy very badly. So, that happened.

[00:04:05] One more very, very important thing happened. And I don't know whether this is highlighted the way it should be. But, you see, Trump appointed Indo-American lawyer, she was an Indian born American citizen, lawyer Harmeet Dillon as the Assistant Attorney General of Civil Rights. Assistant Attorney General of Civil Rights.

[00:04:29] While, Ms. Harmeet Dillon will be reporting into the Attorney General, civil rights is a very important portfolio. Very important portfolio. Because, she will be the custodian of guarding the Constitution of America. Powerful. She will be the custodian of guarding the civil rights of Americans in America and across the world. Very important. Very important.

[00:04:55] She will be also supervising a lot of election processes. So, like I said, very, very important portfolio has been given to Harmeet Dillon. So, I told you the role of Assistant Attorney General. But, let me also tell you a little bit about Harmeet Dillon.

[00:05:18] When there was the farmer protest in India, Harmeet Dillon said that as Punjab-born descendant of a farmer, my heart breaks to see Punjabi farmers assaulted for protesting against Indian government's big corporation farm bill that will destroy the farms, way of life and culture. Hear them, meet them, and compromise PM Modi, she said.

[00:05:48] Hear them, meet them, and compromise with them. This is what she had told Prime Minister Modi in 2020. Farmers protest ke baag pe. Dillon also remarked following the 2023 killing of pro-Khalistan leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada which escalated India-Canada diplomatic tension. She said, spoke against that killing too. She was not very pro-India. In fact, she was against it.

[00:06:18] India has sent death squad to target North American Sikhs outspoken on civil human rights condition in Punjab, both to Canada and now the US. Will our government do anything about it or just pander endlessly over artificial DEI nonsense? So she said, India is sending death squad and all that to kill pro-Khalistani people. She asked her government, you should do anything about it. Joe Biden was the then president.

[00:06:46] She asked the government, you should do anything about it. So, Ms. Dillon is not very pro-India. Ms. Dillon is not very pro-Moodi. And she has been handpicked and made the assistant attorney general for civil rights. Like I told you, a very important portfolio. So that's point number two.

[00:07:13] Point number three is, Gurpathwant Singh Pannu. You see the face in front of you. This man, who has been spewing venom against India, who has been threatening our Kumbha Melas, who have been threatening our political readers, including Prime Minister Modi. He has been threatening them, sitting and threatening, directly threatening them. The US has done nothing about them. Nothing about him.

[00:07:40] Even this particular government, which is going to take over in the next seven days, is doing nothing about him. He is saying nothing about him. He is saying nothing against him. Why? Pannu is India's enemy number one. Had somebody said about United States, would United States allow that person to even live? Pannu has been saying openly.

[00:08:07] Like I told you, threatened that he will cause terror strikes on the Kumbha Mela openly. So nothing has been done about it. So this is the current situation between India and United States. Now, the Modi-Trump relationship is not as close and intense as what it was before.

[00:08:35] You see, in 2024, when Mr. Modi attended the Quad, President Joe Biden chaired the meeting at Quad that particular year, 2024. And incidentally, Donald Trump had mentioned that Modi will be meeting Mr. Donald Trump after the Quad meeting. But that meeting never happened.

[00:09:05] That meeting never happened. A lot of people say that Modi was advised that, Baba, listen, with all the cases and all, possibly Donald Trump may not come back. Donald Trump may not get elected. You remember Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, they were contesting. And a lot of people, it is said, these are rumored. It is, these are rumored. These are reported. These are what sources say.

[00:09:32] That, at that point in time, Narendra Modi did not meet Donald Trump. That is a fact. He did not meet Donald Trump. So, Donald Trump had announced that Mr. Narendra Modi is meeting me. So, I guess that, a lot of people say, didn't go too well with the Donald Trump camp. So, this is another issue that a lot of people discuss. And a lot of experts talk about it. So, thik acchalo, that is what.

[00:09:59] Now, the US ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, says that, listen, you know what? He says, I do know that the Prime Minister and President-elect Trump are incredibly close. I look forward to when they will meet together directly. It's not about invitation to a crowded swearing in. It's about one-to-one conversation that we'll have, that will define the next chapter of our relationship.

[00:10:29] He went on to say that, one of the great things that I've seen is India coming to the US, whether it's investments or way our militaries are coming together. We see this relationship with endless possibilities and without any limits. So, this is what the US ambassador says. The US ambassador says, what is it? Swearing in, wearing in, it's not a crowded ceremony and all. It doesn't matter whether your Prime Minister is called for that crowded ceremony or not called for the crowded ceremony.

[00:10:58] The fact is, what matters is our relationship. What matters is one-to-one conversation. What matters is the way India comes to the United States for investments and military intelligence and military cooperation and all of that. So, that's what is more important. That's what we like and that's the thing that will go way forward is what the US ambassador said. So, that's where it stands. That's where Indo-American relationship stands.

[00:11:25] You decide why possibly Mr. Narendra Modi was not invited. I would like to know your point of view. Please write down your comments in the comment box below. Share this video and do subscribe to us. And yeah, I'll see you tomorrow with another topic. Namaskar. Stay ahead with our cutting-edge news app. Instantly access the latest shots in just one minute and breaking news in just 50 words. Download now for a smarter, faster news experience.