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A meeting of Chicagoland activists, organizations, and news media was convened by Dr. Bharat Barai, president of the Indian American Community Foundation, at Devon’s Northshore Banquet Hall on Aug. 20 to inform the local chapter about the plans in the works to make Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Sep. 28 reception at New York’s Madison Square Garden (MSG) a success. Barai, the point man for Modi’s visit, has been holding IACF chapter meetings around the country including in New York, to apprise the community about the visit and mobilize local organizations to inform their members, secure a limited number of free tickets, and raise funds locally, he told Desi Talk.
Barai along with the Overseas Friends of the Bharatiya Janata Party and others, founded IACF. The chairman of IACF is Chandra Kant Patel of Tampa, Florida, who is also the president of OFBJP. The vice chair of IACF is H.R. Shah, owner of the New York based television station TV Asia. The IACF was established in July primarily to organize for the Prime Minister’s visit, Barai told Desi Talk. “And the top officeholders from different organizations tells you that everybody is working together,” Barai said in the context of earlier news reports about controversies among several organizations wanting to be involved in the Sept. 28 event. A website, pmvisit.org has been created which allows organizations to register and reserve batches of seats which they would then distribute at their discretion to members or individuals from the community.
The Aug. 20 meeting highlighted key issues such as how to ensure fair and equitable distribution of the free entry passes, affordable transportation to the New York venue and ensuring a smooth schedule for all.
According to details revealed at the meeting, Bronze sponsors would pay their way individually at $1000 as a matter of principle, and have been allotted 1000 seats. The remaining 16,000 seats are available at no cost but secured by name. The venue can accommodate up to 18,000 attendees. The organizers are hoping that 40 to 50 Chicagoland associations will sign up.
Though associations here are free to charter buses, the journey will be time consuming and perhaps end up being more costly due to the obligatory overnight stay, organizers noted. Same-day chartered flights are expected to be most cost-effective amounting to about $350 per head. Chair Balwinder Singh is charged with bringing people, including through mosques, temples, and churches. Organizations should raise money from their members and subsidize transportation where needed. Despite the Madison Square Garden event falling on a Sunday, concerns were also expressed about getting from the airport to the downtown venue on time because of Manhattan traffic.
Publicity efforts to disseminate relevant information and solicit larger crowds from across the nation are hampered by red tape not only from New Delhi but also from Madison Square Garden, which is extremely protective of its reputation and insists on reviewing every ad bearing its name, organizers said at the meeting.
Doors of Madison Square Garden will open at 9:30am for security procedures, and the program will start at 11 a.m. sharp, according to Barai. Prime Minister Modi is expected to arrive at 11:30 and he is expected to speak for 50 minutes. There will be no introductions Barai said. No one else will be on the stage and no Q&A is planned. There will be 45 minutes to an hour of cultural programs.
The Indian Ambassador Subrahmanyam Jaishankar is hosting a dinner for Modi, but only for his own invitees, though IAFC will recommend sponsors to invite, Barai said. There will be no state dinner, but Democrats and Republicans will meet Modi together on Sep. 30, something Nancy Pelosi is said to have assured the conveners, Barai said. If not enough sponsors contribute, some might be stuck with paying much more, organizers said.
Other speakers at the Chicago meeting included Nirav K Patel, Jitendra Diganvker, Balwinder Singh and Vinesh Virani.