Huge crowd gathers outside White House to welcome PM Modi

Washington DC: A huge crowd of Indian diaspora gathered outside the South Lawns of the White House on Thursday, awaiting the arrival of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden.

'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' and 'Modi Modi' chants echoed in the air as people gathered in huge numbers. Some of the signs held by people in the crowd read "America loves Modi."

People could be seen chanting slogans and waving the national flags of both India and the US.

PM Modi is on his first state visit to the US. an official state visit is the highest-ranked diplomatic invitation extended to a visiting leader.

An Indian-origin student on the balcony of the White House played the violin and a as a large crowd of Indian-Americans waited to welcome PM Modi

Poornima Boria, CEO of the National India-US Chamber of Commerce and former advisor to the US State Department of Commerce described it as an incredible moment.

"What an incredible moment! We are proud of our Prime Minister. Never before so many people were allowed to come to the South Lawns of the White House," she told ANI.

Another woman from Nigeria also heaped praises on Prime Minister Modi and said that she has never seen such a large crowd.

"I have seen Presidents of many countries visiting the US, but never seen such a large crowd gathered here to welcome them. This crowd here means that he (PM Modi) is doing good," she said.

The huge crowd of the Indian diaspora had come from different regions to meet PM Modi at the White House.

"I work up at 3 am and came all the way from Richmond to welcome PM Modi and I am very excited," Rumesh Shah from Gujarat said.

Another supporter Alka Shah said, "I would come from any part of the world to meet the Prime Minister of our country. He is the only one the whole world knows about him. He can be a role model for the rest of the leaders of the world."

"I am here to meet Prime Minister Modi. He is the best man in the whole world. He is going to make India no. 1," a man from Gujarat who is living in the US for the last 50 years told ANI.

Prime Minister Modi who arrived in Washington DC from New York was hosted by United States President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at the White House on Wednesday. He was also hosted for an intimate dinner at the White House, a day before the high-profile state dinner.

Earlier on Wednesday, PM Modi led a special Yoga session on the lawns of the UN headquarters in New York City to mark the 9th edition of International Yoga Day.

The special Yoga session led by PM Modi on the lawns of the UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday entered the Guinness Book of World Records for drawing people of most nationalities performing Yoga together.

In addition to official engagements, Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to interact with leading CEOs, professionals, and other stakeholders.

He will also meet members of the Indian diaspora.