Days ahead of the ''Howdy, Modi!'' event, which is scheduled to be held in Houston on Sunday, 22 September, more than one Congress leader has taken the opportunity to take a dig at the prime minister.
Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday took a swipe at PM Modi over the state of the economy, saying that it seems like it is not too good.
He took to Twitter to say this ahead of Modi's visit to the United States, where the latter will address Indian-Americans at a function named "Howdy Modi".
"'Howdy' economy doin', Mr Modi? Ain't too good it seems," the Gandhi scion said on Twitter, using the hashtag "HowdyEconomy".
The Congress has been attacking the Modi government over the slowdown in the economy and has criticised it for its economic policies.
Terming the event an ‘external extravaganza’, senior leader Kapil Sibal told news agency ANI, “If Howdy Modi! is being held out of India, then it should take place here as well. PM Modi should go to the rural areas of this country and have an event like that. The people will tell him what they are facing”.
He further said that such events are only “okay for publicity”.
“Extravaganzas don't result in prosperity for the ordinary people of this country. Such things are okay for publicity,” he said.
Abhishek Manu Singhvi also took to Twitter and quoted singer-composer Elton John to refer to the “performers”of the event as “show offs”.
The party’s General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also resorted to the micro-blogging site and highlighted the state of economy that she found in sharp contrast to the event.
"Economic reforms cannot be brought along by managing headlines or highlighting the glitz of 5 trillion. Investors cannot be wooed through sponsored events in other countries. Investor sentiment has become shaky. Investments have lost ground," she said in a tweet in Hindi.
More than 50,000 Indian-Americans are expected to turn up at the ''Howdy, Modi!'' event, which will also be addressed by US President Donald Trump.
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