Bangkok: A day after German Chancellor Angela Merkel voiced concern about the Kashmir situation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday got the Indian diaspora in the Thai capital to cheer loudly his government's decision to scrap special status for Jammu & Kashmir.
With the packed Indian diaspora audience listening to his every word, Modi in his reference to Kashmir, said: "India took a major step to free India of terrorism and extremism. Do you know what was done, do you?" -- as the crowd loudly roared "Modi, Modi".
"When the decision is right and the intention is right then its echo is heard across the world. And I hear this even in Thailand," he said, as the crowd stood up to cheer loudly.
Modi termed the "standing ovation" by the audience as strong backing of the Indian Parliament's passage with two-thirds majority of the bill to revoke special status to Jammu and Kashmir and its bifurcation into two Union Territories on August 5.
"This ovation is support for every Indian Parliament member, and is a source of great strength to them," he said, as the crowd kept up its chant of "Modi, Modi".
He expressed gratitude to the diaspora at the 'Sawasdee PM Modi' community event for supporting the government's Kashmir move. On Friday, Merkel during her talks with Modi in Delhi conveyed to him that the "situation for the people in Kashmir is unsustainable and not good".
His reference to Kashmir during his address to the indian diaspora in Thailand is similar to the 'Howdy Modi' event in Houston on September 22, when while addressing a crowd of 50,000 diaspora, he had got them to cheer his government's decision to revoke Article 370.
At that time US President Donald Trump was on the dais with Modi when he got the Indian diaspora to cheer his decision on Kashmir.
