New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at Palam airport in Delhi on Friday after concluding his two-nation visit to France and the US.

During his visit, PM Modi co-chaired AI summit in France and in the US, he also met President Donald Trump – the first meeting of the two leaders after Donald Trump assumed charge as the 47th US President on January 20, 2025.

PM Modi held a meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday. The two leaders shared a hug as Donald Trump welcomed PM Modi at the White House on Thursday.

Donald Trump said that he, PM Modi, and the two nations have “great unity and great friendship.” He called it “important” to remain united as nations.During his meeting with PM Modi on Thursday (local time), Donald Trump stressed that the ties between the two nations will get closer.

PM Modi told US President Donald Trump on Thursday that he is delighted to see him back at the White House for a second term and expressed confidence that the two countries will continue to advance India-US strategic partnership with the “same bond, trust and excitement.”

In his remarks, PM Modi said the people of India had also allowed him to serve them for a third successive term, and this has happened after 60 years in the country’s history.

This was PM Modi’s first visit to the United States since President Donald Trump’s inauguration of the second presidential term last month. PM Modi is among the first few world leaders to visit the United States following the inauguration of President Trump and has been invited to visit the US within barely three weeks of the new administration.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri provided an overview of PM Modi’s visit to the US. He said that the Prime Minister held discussions with notable figures, including newly confirmed Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

The Foreign Secretary emphasised that the extensive four-hour talks at the White House covered a wide range of issues, including strategic and security cooperation, defence, trade, economic engagement, technology, energy security, and regional and global concerns.

While addressing a press briefing on Thursday (local time), Misri said, “The PM just concluded a very substantive and productive visit to the United States at the invitation of President Donald Trump. This is the Prime Minister’s first visit to the United States after the inauguration of President Trump for a second term. This visit is a signal of the priority that both leaders attach to the India-US relationship. The newly confirmed Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, paid a call to the PM. The PM received Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.”

“The discussions at the White House went on for four hours. The discussions covered a lot of ground. The entire gamut of the relationship, ranging from strategic and security cooperation, defence, trade and economic engagement, technology, energy security and people-to-people linkages, regional and global issues of concerns were dealt with,” Misri added.

Prior to visiting US, PM Modi was on a three-day visit to France from February 10-12, where he participated in various programmes related to Artificial Intelligence (AI), commerce, energy, and cultural linkages. He co-chaired the AI Action Summit, a gathering of world leaders and global tech CEOs.

During his France visit, PM Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron visited Marseille. The two leaders visited the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor project, in which India is a member of the consortium of partner countries that include France. PM Modi also paid tributes to the Indian soldiers who laid down their lives during World Wars I and II at the Mazargues War Cemetery.

PM Modi and Macron also visited the control room of CMA-CGM, a global leader in shipping and logistics. The two leaders jointly inaugurated the Indian Consulate in Marseille. Macron came to see off PM Modi at the Marseille airport as departed for the US for the second leg of his visit.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Proud of the efforts of all Government employees, said PM Modi. (File)

New Delhi:

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Monday responded to criticism by Prime Minister Narendra Modi about his use of the word ‘shakti‘ – a reference to the feminine divine energy – when describing the opposition’s bid to defeat the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in the April/May Lok Sabha election.

The PM and the BJP had accused Mr Gandhi and the opposition, including the Congress-led INDIA bloc, of wanting to destroy ‘shakti‘, and extended the comment to “…denying the existence of Lord Ram”. “I accept their challenge. I will sacrifice my life,” the PM said in Telangana’s Jagtial.

Mr Gandhi then counter-accused the PM of “always trying to change the meaning of my words by twisting them in some way or the other”, and said he had spoken about a “power (or ‘shakti‘) that has captured institutions, media, industry, and the entire constitutional structure of India”.

“… he (PM Modi) knows I have spoken a deep truth. The power that I mentioned, the power that we are fighting… the mask of that power is Modiji. This is such a power that has captured institutions… the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Enforcement Directorate, the Income Tax Department, the Election Commission, the media, and the entire constitutional structure of India,” he declared.

मोदी जी को मेरी बातें अच्छी नहीं लगतीं, किसी न किसी तरह उन्हें घुमाकर वह उनका अर्थ हमेशा बदलने की कोशिश करते हैं क्योंकि वह जानते हैं कि मैंने एक गहरी सच्चाई बोली है।

जिस शक्ति का मैंने उल्लेख किया, जिस शक्ति से हम लड़ रहे हैं, उस शक्ति का मुखौटा मोदी जी हैं।

वह एक ऐसी शक्ति…

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 18, 2024

“I recognise that power… Modiji also recognises that power. This is not religious power. It is the power of corruption and falsehood. And this is why, whenever I raise my voice against him, Modiji gets upset and enraged,” Mr Gandhi thundered at a ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ event in Mumbai.

READ | “Misogynistic”: Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Shakti’ Remark Rally Sparks Row

Mr Gandhi was seen as referring to claims by the opposition that the BJP uses central agencies, like the CBI, ED and Income Tax Department, to target and intimidate rivals, particularly before an election.

Mr Gandhi also spoke about a “senior (Maharashtra political) leader” who quit the Congress.

“Weeping… he told my mother (Congress matriarch Sonia Gandhi), ‘Soniaji, I’m ashamed to say, I do not have the power to fight this people, this force. I do not want to go to jail’.”

The “senior leader” was seen by many to be ex-Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, who last month swapped the Congress for the BJP, and got a Rajya Sabha nomination, within 48 hours. Mr Chavan this morning, however, issued a statement refusing talk Mr Gandhi was referring to him.

READ | Ashok Chavan On Rahul’s “Weeping Senior Leader Who Quit” Jab

Mr Chavan has three cases pending against him; two are linked to the 2010 Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society scam, which led to his resignation as Chief Minister.

In a response on X (formerly Twitter), Mr Gandhi also said the PM had waived loans worth thousands of crores while farmers commit suicide over repay debts of a few thousands.

The Congress leader also referred to earlier “crony capitalism” attacks on the Prime Minister and the BJP, and claimed Mr Modi had “auctioned the country’s property to increase that power” while poor Indians live in poverty and suffer through an ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

The Prime Minister wasn’t the only BJP figure to lash out at Mr Gandhi; BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla accused the Congress MP of expressing “misogynistic” views.

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