Two days before his arrival, Donald Trump felicitation committee meets for the first time

Two days after its name was first mentioned during a press briefing of Ministry of External Affairs' spokesperson, the "Donald Trump Nagrik Abhinanadan Samiti" or DTNAS on Saturday held its first meeting in the city. However, the members refused to share details of its formation, their roles, among other details.

BJP MPs Kirit Solanki and Hansmukh Patel, Vice-Chancellor of Gujarat University, Himanshu Pandya, noted architect B V Doshi, President of Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industry Durgesh Buch attended the close-door meeting at circuit house in Shahibaug along with Mayor Bijal Patel as its chairperson.

The members refused to speak to the media about the agenda of the meeting, its constitution, among other details. One of the members said, "Only the Mayor is authorised to speak to the media." Calls to the Mayor remained unanswered.

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani had told reporters on Friday that a "swagat samiti" or reception committee, headed by the Mayor, has been formed to welcome Trump on February 24 at cricket stadium in Motera.

When contacted BJP parliamentarian Hasmukh Patel told DH that "The meeting was the first meeting but the preparations are going on for a very long time." He also refused to divulge any information saying that "All the members have decided that only Mayor Bijal Patel will be talking to the media."

On Saturday, DTNAS was also launched on Twitter and its first tweet was a group picture of its members standing outside the cricket stadium with a caption in Gujarati that said the team took stock of preparation of "Namaste Trump" event. The Twitter handle also has a link of a website namastepresidenttrump.in, a newly formed website that informs about the upcoming event's preparation. Department of Science & Technology, government of Gujarat, has created this website.

Meanwhile, Congress has objection over this committee and the money being spent on this extravaganza. The officials here have been maintaining that Ahmedabad Municipal Coporation (AMC), which is managing the 22-km roadshow has spent over Rs 100 crore. The name of DTNAS as the organiser of "Namaste Trump" event at Motera cricket stadium was revealed only on Thursday in the MEA press conference.

Ex Gujarat Chief Minister Shankarsinh Vaghela also raised questions on Saturday. After visiting Sabarmati Ashram, Vaghela addressed a press conference saying that "Preparations are going on for weeks but only today I came to know about a committee. There are genuine questions to be asked like when was it formed, what is its role, who is responsible for invitations and expenses."