Tharoor takes a wordy jibe at Ahmedabad wall built for Trump visit
Tharoor was the latest to take a jibe at authorities who have been deflecting criticism over the wall, saying the decision to construct the boundary wall and Trump’s visit are not connected
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday turned a poet to criticise a brick wall reportedly built to hide a stretch of slum area in Ahmedabad, where US president Donald Trump will begin his two-day India visit on Monday.
The city's municipal corporation has erected a 600-metre long, four-feet high wall to keep the Sarania Vaas slums located about seven kilometres from Bhat-Motera road out of Trump's sight.
Shashi Tharoor was the latest to take a jibe at authorities who have been deflecting criticism over the wall, saying the decision to construct the boundary wall and Trump's visit are not connected.
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Some have even said the wall was built "for security reasons" and not to conceal the slum.
"In New York, Modi drives past the Waldorf Astoria. In Ahmedabad, Trump drives past a Walled-Off Dystopia," the Congress lawmaker who represents Thiruvananthapuram in the Lok Sabha tweeted.
Tharoor then posted a few lines in Hindi.
"The #TrumpWall, or How to Cover the Distance from Poverty to Wealth by wrapping it in brick and paint," he said.
"It is clear from these walls/ He is very good at showing off/ He measures this journey from poverty to wealth in a few moments/All he does "Tharoor" is that/He covers the truth ... with walls," loosely translated the lines read.
Reports have said that the municipal corporation has also served eviction notices to at least 45 families living in a slum near the newly-built Motera Stadium in ahead of the scheduled visit of Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 24.
Officials have denied any connection with the proposed high-profile visit and issuance of notices.
Residents of the slum, however, have questioned the timing of the move, which came days after the corporation began building a wall allegedly to cover a slum on a route that the US president is likely to take while visiting the city.
The Shiv Sena has also accused the Modi government of trying veil poverty by building a wall to "hide homes of the poor" along the route Donald Trump is scheduled to take in Ahmedabad.
Trump will reach Ahmedabad on Monday afternoon and take part in a roadshow with Prime Minister Modi in Ahmedabad. The two leaders will also address a gathering at the Motera Stadium and with an expected audience of more than a lakh people.
