The "'Howdy, Modi!' – Shared Dreams Bright Futures" event, where members of the United States' vast Indian diaspora community met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was held on Sunday at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, the fourth-largest city in the United States. Modi was accompanied by US President Donald Trump; together they addressed the packed-to-capacity venue.
Here is the answer to #HowdyModi... pic.twitter.com/SXytI29JXv
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 23, 2019
Taking a dig at the event, Major General Asif Ghafoor, chief spokesman of the Pakistan army’s media wing, in a since-deleted tweet showed some empty seats at NRG stadium before the event commenced and sarcastically captioned it “House Full”.
PAKISTAN DG ISPR's Tweet which was later deleted pic.twitter.com/cdaRn6CQPO
— Hans Singh Rajput (@HansSingh13) September 23, 2019
The event was attended by representatives from 48 US states and had a packed stadium; nearly 50,000 Indian-Americans were in attendance.
That’s a Texas-sized crowd!
— Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) September 22, 2019
Electric atmosphere at the NRG arena in Houston as 50,000 strong Indian Americans wait for the historic occasion when PM @narendramodi comes on stage together with US President @realDonaldTrump at #HowdyModi. pic.twitter.com/upJj4pHphr
Thank you Houston for such amazing affection! #HowdyModi pic.twitter.com/xlbWsMVkae
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) September 22, 2019
As the pictures and videos of the stands stared going viral on social media, netizens took a dig at Major General Ghafoor and accused him of creating a false impression of the event being a flop.
😂😂this is before MODI JI came to the event....
— Rahul Kaithwas (@apex592) September 22, 2019
See what happens after he came😂😂
Asif ghafoor tweeted this pic and then deleted this pic when Modi ji came😂😂 pic.twitter.com/0G9lsTRzQ9
Asif Ghafoor of Pakistan Army is a silent Modi fan at heart! Awwwww!! #HowdyModi pic.twitter.com/YzXbGvyTLY
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) September 22, 2019
Asif ghafoor tweeted this and then deleted this because crowd filled up but this is not important. Why a general of Pakistan army is speaking about political matters ? Why is he blatantly indulging in political banter ? Why he doesn’t stay professional ? pic.twitter.com/Jx5ZrBiyD6
— Guru Pakistani 🇵🇰 (@GuruKithayHay) September 22, 2019
Asif Ghafoor’s full time job is trolling and part time job is to count seats of Modi’s event. 😂 pic.twitter.com/hS0eJNGrDv
— Faiz Baluch (@Faiz_Baluch) September 22, 2019
asif ghafoor sb should concentrate more on his work than being worried about what modi is doing and should leave politicians to answer modi.
— Muhammad Danish (@coolncrazy143) September 22, 2019
The event was hosted by the Texas India Forum. The live audience in the stadium was the largest-ever gathering for an invited foreign leader visiting the US other than the Pope, according to the organisers.
It was the first time an American President had addressed such a large Indian-American audience at one place in the country.
