‘Not Attending Modi Event Due to Prior Schedule’: Tulsi Gabbard

File image of Tulsi Gabbard with PM Modi.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@gautam4news)

Democratic presidential aspirant Tulsi Gabbard has clarified that she will not be attending the event due to ‘previously scheduled presidential campaign events’.

On Wednesday, 18 September, Gabbard tweeted in response to an article which claimed that she had refused the invitation for the event. Gabbard also said that she is hoping to meet PM Modi during his visit.

“This article is misinformed. I’m not attending the Houston event due to previously scheduled presidential campaign events. However I'm hoping to meet PM Modi on his visit to discuss the importance of maintaining the strong partnership of the world's oldest & largest democracies,” she tweeted.

Previously, Hollywood actors Riz Ahmed and actress and Jameela Jamil decided to pull out of an event organised by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, where PM Modi will receive the 'Global Goalkeeper Award' for Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan.

Gates Foundation confirmed the same in a statement sent to The Quint. “Jameela Jamil and Riz Ahmed are no longer participating in Goalkeepers,” the statement said.

US President Donald Trump will join Narendra Modi at the mega ‘Howdy, Modi!’ diaspora event in Houston on Sunday to bolster Indo-US strategic ties, according to a White House announcement which was hailed by the Prime Minister as a “special gesture” signifying the friendship between the two countries.

Emphasising the new bonhomie in the India-US ties under the Trump administration, this is for the first time in recent history that the leaders of the two largest democracies would be addressing a joint rally anywhere in the world.

More than 50,000 Indian-Americans from across the US have registered for the 22 September mega “Howdy, Modi! Shared Dreams, Bright Futures” event to be held at the sprawling NRG Stadium in Houston.

This would also be the first time that an American president would be addressing thousands of Indian-Americans at one place in the US.

India's Ambassador to the US, Harsh Vardhan Shringla called Trump's participation in the ‘Howdy, Modi!’ event "historic" and "unprecedented".

(With inputs from PTI)