PM Modi meets Sikh delegation in New York

Washington: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has met several members of the Sikh community here in the US, who thanked him for the work done by his government for the Sikh community.

“We were so happy, and what a positive feeling we had after the meeting. We greeted the prime minister as soon as he walked in the room with the Sikh traditional jaikara of Jo Bole So Nihal, and the prime minister was so gracious to reply back Sat Sri Akaal,” Jasdip Singh Jassee from the Sikhs of America organisation said after he met Modi in New York on Monday.

Prominent Sikh leader from Wisconsin Darshan Singh Dhaliwal also met the Prime Minister.

“We had a very good discussion. The prime minister has done a lot for the Sikh community," Jassee told PTI after returning to Washington later in the day.

"I don't think any other Prime Minister in history of India has done for the Sikh community what Prime Minister Modi has been doing, including the opening of Kartar Saheb Corridor, celebrations of 500 years of Guru Nanak’s 550th birthday, abolishing the blacklist of Sikhs, who could not visit India and also getting justice for the victims of the Sikh genocide that happened in 1984 under the Congress government,” Jassee said, referring to the anti-Sikh riots that took place in 1984 after the assassination of then-prime minister Indira Gandhi by her two Sikh security.

“We thanked him today for what he has done for the Sikh community and we are going to take another delegation to India to meet him pretty soon and discuss issues with him,” he said, congratulating the prime minister for his “very, very successful visit” to the United States.

Modi, who was in the US on a three-day official visit, left for home on Monday.

“What we saw in Long Island, New York, was a sea of supporters of India. I'm not going to say just supporters of Prime Minister Modi but supporters of India, people who love India, people who are so happy with the development of India, the progress of India that they showed there,” he said, referring to the mega community event on Saturday at the Nassau Coliseum in New York.

Modi addressed the gathering attended by more than 13,000 Indian-Americans. While the majority of them were from the New York and New Jersey area, Indian-Americans came in from 40 states, organisers said. Sixty charter buses were used for transportation purposes.

“Ironically, this was the same area where India and Pakistan played a cricket match. Again it was the same kind of crowd and the same kind of frenzy that we had in that match that I saw yesterday,” Jassee said.