Modi, Netanyahu begin roadshow in Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu embarked on a eight-km long roadshow from the airport to Sabarmati Ashram here today. After arriving in Modi’s home state, the two leaders along with the Israeli prime minister’s wife Sara Netanyahu set out in a car from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Airport here.

The roadshow will end at the Sabarmati Ashram after covering a distance of 8 kms. Around 50 stages have been erected on the roadside along the stretch to showcase performances by troupes of different states to welcome the guests, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s standing committee chairman Pravin Patel earlier said.

The city, especially the stretch from the airport to the Sabarmati Ashram, has been decked up to welcome Netanyahu and his wife. The Israeli PM is the third international leader whom Modi is hosting in his home state of Gujarat.

Modi and Japanese premier Shinzo Abe had held a joint roadshow during the latter’s visit here in September last year. The Indian premier had shown Abe and his wife around at the Sabarmati Ashram, where Mahatma Gandhi had stayed for a long time.

They had also spent some time at the Sabarmati Riverfront, developed during Modi’s tenure as Gujarat chief minister. Modi had also accompanied Chinese President Xi Jinping and his spouse to the riverfront during the latter’s India visit in 2014.