New Delhi: Hours after touching down in Ahmedabad for their maiden two-day visit to India, US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at the Sabarmati Ashram on Monday.
The Trumps were accompanied by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who received the American leader at the Ahmedabad airport and joined his cavalcade on a 22-km roadshow which was dotted by thousands of spectators.
After trying his hands on the spinning wheel (charkha), Trump wrote a message in the visitors' diary of the ashram, thanking Modi for the “wonderful visit" and calling the Indian PM his “great friend”.
“To my great friend, Prime Minister Modi – thank you for this wonderful visit,” the US president wrote about the 15-minute visit.
Many were surprised that Trump did not make any mention of Mahatma Gandhi in the visitors’ book.
After noticing no mention of Mahatma Gandhi in the message by Trump, netizens took to Twitter, comparing his note with that of former US President Barack Obama.
When Obama visited the Mani Bhavan - where Gandhi used to stay while in Mumbai - in south Mumbai in 2010, his note in the visitors' book read: "I am filled with hope and inspiration as I have the privilege to view this testament to Gandhi's life. He is a hero not just to India but to the world."
Five years later, in January 2015, after visiting the Raj Ghat in Delhi, Obama wrote, "What Dr Martin Luther King Jr said then remains true today. The spirit of Gandhi is very much alive in India today. And it remains a great gift to the world. May we always live in the spirit of love and peace - among all people and nations."
Congress leader Manish Tewari posted an image of Trump's remarks in the Ashram visitors' book, saying "This is a snapshot of the note that someone sent. It ostensibly is @realDonaldTrumps note at Sabarmati. No mention of the Great Mahatma. Does he even know who Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was?
"And this is what @barackobama had to say about the Great Mahatma possibly at Rajghat or Sabarmati. The distinction cannot be more stark," the former Union minister said, posting an image of Obama's remarks.
Tapas Dey (@TapasDeyINC), former Tripura MLA, tweeted: "No mention of Bapu Mahatma Gandhi Ji in the visitor's book of Sabarmati Ashram, instead Mr President @realDonaldTrump express his love to @narendramodi."
Another Twitter user Martin Joseph (@martinjmsw1) tweeted about Trump's hand writing.
"President Trumps comments in the visitor book of Sabarmati Ashram. The letters must be either in uppercase or lowercase but he used randomly mixed capitalization in writing. It’s known StudlyCaps. He must repeat his High school Grammar classes."
(With PTI inputs)
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