'Modi's Britain trip as much about showmanship as diplomacy'

Islamabad, Nov 17

 Everyone wants a share in India with the country being projected as the next global power, said a Pakistani daily which noted that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's trip to Britain was "as much about showmanship as it was about diplomacy".

An editorial "The Modi show" in the News International on Tuesday said that coming "at a time when India’s growing intolerance under the BJP government is making the news, the visit of Modi to the United Kingdom garnered sufficient controversy".

"...as prime minister, Modi had the red carpet rolled out for him on his visit to the UK - complete with lunch with the Queen, a stay at Prime Minister David Cameron’s country retreat and an address to the British parliament."

The daily said that as over 800 protesting Indians greeted Modi at Downing Street, the British prime minister ended up serving as the Indian prime minister’s first line of defence. 

"The reason is simple. 

"At the end of the visit, Cameron and Modi have announced 20 business deals worth $13.7 billion between the two countries."

The editorial said that everyone wants a share in India "with the country being projected as the next global power, and Modi’s trip to the UK was as much about showmanship as it was about diplomacy". 

In London, the Indian prime minister addressed 60,000 people at the Wembley Stadium. 

Modi’s chief aim seems to be to build ‘Brand India’. "With the visit coming after the ruling BJP’s embarrassing defeat in Bihar and the return of a number of awards by Indian writers and artists in protest, Modi is using his foreign trips to sprinkle glamour on the serious issues that plague India domestically," said the editorial. 

"After the US, the UK has also played another uncritical host to the Modi show."