US President Biden said, PM Modi’s autograph should be taken; here’s why

NEW DELHI: When US President Joe Biden approached Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Quad meeting, one of the points he made was that he should invite prominent citizens to attend the Indian leader’s events during next month’s state visit. A large number of requests were being received from to Washington DC, officials said on Sunday. Echoing similar views, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he too was finding it difficult to keep up with all the requests he was getting for a community event where Modi would speak on Tuesday, even though Sydney The venue has a capacity of 20,000, officials said. Albanese recalled how over 90,000 people greeted him during his victory lap at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

On this, Biden asked Modi in a light-hearted manner to take his autograph. Modi and Albanese were at the Gujarat Stadium to watch the India-Australia Test match in March this year and took the lap of honour.

As part of his three-nation tour, Modi is scheduled to arrive in Australia on Monday and address a community event on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday laid a wreath at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in memory of those killed in the US atomic bomb attack on the Japanese city in 1945 at the end of World War II. Modi is on a visit to Japan to attend the annual summit of the G7 advanced economies here in Hiroshima.

Modi joined other world leaders at the G7 summit to visit the museum. The Prime Minister signed the visitor’s book at the museum, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. “Went to the Peace Memorial Museum and Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima this morning,” Modi tweeted.

The leaders also laid a wreath at the Memorial for the Victims of the Atomic Bomb. On August 6, 1945, the United States launched the world’s first nuclear attack on Hiroshima, destroying the city and killing some 140,000 people. Tweeting pictures of Modi’s visit to the museum at the memorial site, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Twitter, “Tribute to the memory of the Hiroshima victims. PM Narendra Modi begins his day by visiting the Peace Memorial Museum, where he views documents. Display and signed the visitor’s book.”

The ministry also tweeted a group photo of world leaders attending the G7 summit and said, “The leaders also paid their respects at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.” The facility displays items left behind by victims, photographs and other materials that convey the horror of the US atomic bomb being dropped on Hiroshima. The G7 bloc includes Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada, and Italy, as well as the European Union.