Ajay Shastri (Editor) BCR NEWS & BOLLYWOOD CINE REPORTER, Email: editorbcr@gmail.com :::::::::
BCR NEWS (New Delhi) President Barack Obama and the First Lady Michelle Obama arrived in New Delhi on Sunday morning ahead of schedule to start a three-day visit to the country to showcase what his administration sees as a deepening relationship between the United States and India.
Mr. Obama was invited to India as chief guest for the country’s Republic Day celebrations on Monday when he will look on as missiles, marching bands andmotorcycle stunt-riders parade past the viewing platform for almost two hours.
Sunday’s schedule in full.
Air Force One, the president’s aircraft, will land at 10 a.m. India time.
Mr. Obama, like other heads of state visiting New Delhi, will land at Air Force Station Palam, controlled by the Indian air force.
The Obamas are reported to be staying in the grand presidential suite at the ITC Maurya hotel. Take a look around the suite here.
The First Couple will then travel to Rashtrapati Bhawan, the home of India’s president in the center of the capital where at noon they will be greeted by Indian President Pranab Mukherjee in an official welcome ceremony.
At 12.40 p.m., Mr. Obama will lay a wreath and plant a tree at Raj Ghat, the memorial to Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of India’s independence movement. Raj Ghat is the place where Gandhi was cremated following his assassination in 1948. Mr. Obama is a great admirer of Gandhi’s and portraits of the architect of India’s non-violent freedom struggle are displayed in the corridors of the White House.
From there, Mr. Obama will travel to Hyderabad House in central New Delhi to conduct a working lunch with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 1.30 p.m. No press will attend this event, but here’s a look at what might be on, and off the agenda during the discussion.
At 2.45 p.m. the U.S. president and the Indian prime minister will provide the press with a chance to capture them walking and talking at Hyderabad House, the former residence of the nizam or monarch of Hyderabad, which like much of New Delhi was designed by British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens.
The goal of Mr. Obama’s visit, U.S. officials said, is to invest in and improve what historically has been an uneven and at-times strained alliance, with the hope of laying the groundwork for future agreements. Consequently, the U.S. president’s stay may be defined more by the imagery of goodwill than by substantial accords.
Nevertheless, the two leaders will continue their talks between 3.05 p.m. and 4.10 p.m. at which point they will each deliver statements.
After that, Mr. and Mrs. Obama will meet U.S. Embassy staff and their families at the ITC Maurya hotel in Delhi where the presidential delegation is staying during the visit.
The U.S. Embassy became embroiled in a tit-for-tat diplomatic row with India after one of that country’s diplomats was arrested in New York at the end of 2013. India removed security barriers on the roads outside the embassy in New Delhi and barred non-diplomats from using embassy facilities, including a restaurant and pool, after Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade was arrested on allegations of visa fraud and making false statement about a domestic worker.
Ms. Khobragade denied the allegations and returned to India in 2014 thereby avoiding prosecution.
At 7.35 p.m., Mr. Obama meets with India’s largely symbolic head of state, President Mukherjee, at his official residence, Rashtrapati Bhawan.
Then at 7.50 p.m., the First Couple will attend a state dinner at Rashtrapati Bhawan attended by Mr. Modi and other Indian politicians. All eyes will be on Mrs. Obama’s outfit. Last time she attended a state dinner in India she wore a silk tunic by designer Rachel Roy who has Indian roots and has dressed Mrs. Obama more than 20 times.
