Hitting out at the central government for spending crores of rupees to welcome Donald Trump, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Saturday compared the President to film villain "Mogambo".
For the ininitiated, he was the villain essayed by late actor Amrish Puri in the Bollywood film 'Mr India'.
Chowdhury said that the government was doing everything to make "Mogambo" happy.
"What is the need to spend crore of rupees from the government's treasury? People living in slums are being forced to hide or move to make Trump happy. Is this the right behaviour? Gujarat was developed by Modi as a model for others but the poor are being exploited there. It is like we will do everything to make Mogambo happy," he told ANI.
"We will protest against the Modi government," he added.
He is not the only person to have brought up the expenses incurred in preparation for the upcoming Namaste Trump event.
Following the Ministry of External Affairs' revelation that the Gujarat event was being organised by an entity called the 'Donald Trump Nagrik Abhinandan Samiti', Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala wondered why the Gujarat Government was "spending Rs. 120 crore for a 3 hour event organised by an unknown private entity".
Priyanka Gandhi too took to Twitter to criticise the government.
Tagging a media report on Twitter, she wondered what the government is "hiding under the guise" of the committee.
"Rs 100 crore is being spent on the visit of President Trump. But this money is being spent through a committee. The members of the committee do not know that they are its members. Does the country not have the right to know which ministry gave how much money to the committee? What is the government hiding under the guise of the committee?" the Congress general secretary tweeted.
Chowdhury, who is Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, has also declined the invitation by Rashtrapati Bhavan for the banquet being organised in honour of Trump on February 25, citing that the similar invitation was not extended to the party's interim president, Sonia Gandhi.
While stating that Trump's visit to India was a "very big thing", he reminded that in the 'Howdy Modi' event, "both Republican and Democrats shared the stage".
"What kind of democracy is this?" Chowdhury asked.
"The US is a powerful nation and we welcome their president in our country. The country which he represents is considered as the oldest democracy and India as the biggest democracy. Democracy has some features which everyone shall respect," he added.
Donald Trump will be landing in India for his first state visit to the country on February 24. His two day visit will see the President visiting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat to inaugurate the world's largest stadium and to take part in a roadshow with the Prime Minister in Ahmedabad.
He will also address at the "Namaste Trump" event at Motera Stadium.
Trump is also slated to visit the Taj Mahal in Agra and attend a cultural programme in the city before travelling to Delhi.
(With inputs from agencies)
