Modi will not raise Article 370 or J&K at UN

New Delhi: India will not discuss its recent move to revoke Article 370 at the UN General Assembly (UNGA), foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale said on Thursday, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would focus at the UN on what India was doing “for development, for security, for peace, and our expectations and aspirations of other countries”. He added that if Pakistan “wishes to dwell upon this issue (India’s move on J&K) in the speech by Prime Minister (Imran Khan), they are welcome to do so”. Mr Gokhale also said that for India, there are several issues, “of development, climate change, other bilateral and multilateral issues”, adding “terrorism is definitely one such issue but the focus will not be on that”.

Both Mr Modi and Pakistan PM Imran Khan are due to address the UNGA on September 27 within hours of each other. Meanwhile, sources later told this newspaper that India wants to focus on its own achievements and “completely ignore” Pakistan at the UNGA to ensure it is not given any publicity or importance.

Mr Modi will visit the United States from September 21 to 27, during which he will visit Houston and later New York. His engagements include a huge Indian diaspora event in Houston, after which he will meet several members of the US Congress, will attend two important business meetings in Houston and New York and hold bilateral meetings with 20 foreign leaders, including US President Donald Trump, in New York. At all these bilateral meetings, Mr Modi is expected to push for “reformed multilateralism” and a greater role for India in the world polity and the UN. It is no secret New Delhi is pushing hard for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council.

Mr Gokhale said the Indian diaspora event in Houston on Sunday to be addressed by Mr Modi will be attended by President Trump and the leadership of the Democratic Party. He added that those who would attend will include US Congress members from both the Republican and Democratic parties, thereby demonstrating the bipartisan support that India-US ties enjoys among the political leadership of that country. He also said Mr Modi would have a separate interaction with some US Congress members after the event. The foreign secretary said over 50,000 members of the Indian diaspora would take part in the event, making it larger than two previous events addressed by Mr Modi at Madison Square Garden, New York, in 2014 and in San Jose, California, in 2015.

Mr Modi will meet altogether 20 leaders of various foreign nations in separate bilateral meetings in New York in the next few days, that will include President Trump. These leaders will be from all continents, including from India’s neighbourhood, to as far as Latin America. Mr Modi will also attend two “plurilateral” meetings with leaders of Pacific nations and Caribbean leaders on September 24 and 25 respectively. Separately, external affairs ainister S. Jaishankar and minister of state for external affairs V. Muraleedharan will also be in New York to interact with foreign dignitaries in a major outreach by India.

Mr Modi will also meet top executives in two business meetings — the first on September 21 in Houston with the CEOs of energy companies, and the second in New York on September 25 with top executives of key global companies, during which New Delhi is expected to push for greater investment by these companies in India. On September 24, the award of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation called the Global Goalkeepers Award will be conferred on Mr Modi for the field of sanitation in the Swachchh Bharat Abhiyan.

Meanwhile, asked about reports that alleged that pro-“Khalistan” elements at the instigation of Pakistan were planning protests against Mr Modi when he visits the United States, the foreign secretary said the government had “seen such reports” and that he was confident that the US authorities would take necessary action.

In response to a question, Mr Gokhale said: “Article 370 is an internal issue. It will not be debated at the UN and we will not discuss it. When the PM is going to the UN, there are several issues, of development, of climate change, and other bilateral and multilateral issues. Terrorism is definitely one such issue, but the focus will not be on that.”

He added: “As far as what Pakistan is going to say,that is not really for me to comment upon. If they wish to dwell upon this issue in the speech by their Prime Minister, they are welcome to do so. Our PM will focus on what the UNGA’s high-level segment is meant to focus on, which is, as an important economy and country... the PM will flag what we are doing — for development, security, for peace, and our expectations and aspirations of other countries.”

From Houston, the PM will leave for New York, where on September 23 he will participate in a climate meet organised by the UN Secretary-General. The PM will later participate in a conference, again organised by the UN, on universal health coverage, during which he is expected to speak about the Ayushman Bharat scheme of his government, the world’s largest healthcare initiative.

Mr Modi will then participate and speak at a leaders’ dialogue on “Strategic responses to terrorist and violent extremist narratives”. The will be hosted by the King of Jordan, the New Zealand PM, the French President and the UN Secretary-General.

On September 24, Mr Modi will attend a lunch hosted by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. After this, the PM will participate at an event organised by India to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi titled “Leadership matters — Relevance of Gandhi in contemporary times”. This will be attended by some foreign leaders, including South Korean’s President, the Singapore PM, Bangladesh PM, New Zealand PM and the UN Secretary-General. At the event, three “launches” will be done, including that of the “Gandhi solar park”, which is the installation of solar panels on the rooftop of the UN Headquarters in New York from a $1 million grant India has given to promote renewable energy.

The second event will be the inauguration of the Gandhi Peace Garden at the State University of New York campus, where 150 trees have been planted in honour of the celebrations. There will also be the release of a UN postage stamp on Gandhiji.

On September 25, Mr Modi will attend the Bloomberg Business Forum and have a “conversation” with Bloomberg founder Michael Bloomberg, which will be followed by a roundtable organised by the Indian government in which 40 major foreign companies will participate, including J.P. Morgan, Lockheed Martin, Bank of America, Mastercard and Walmart. Mr Gokhale said the objective of the meeting was to get feedback from these companies about their business plans in India and to demonstrate the government’s business-friendly approach to attract investment into India.