Ahmedabad: A lot of eyeballs were raised on Twitter and many people expressed surprise as US President Donald Trump left a message in the visitors’ book at Sabarmati Ashram without any mention of Mahatma Gandhi. He wrote, “To my great friend Prime Minister Modi. Thank you for this wonderful visit. I have really enjoyed it.”
Trump visited the Ashram along with wife Melania minutes after he landed here Monday.
This is a snapshot of the note that someone sent. It ostensibly is @realDonaldTrump ‘s note at Sabarmati. No mention of the Great Mahatma. Does he even know who Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was ? pic.twitter.com/mY0PfXoWW6
— Manish Tewari (@ManishTewari) February 24, 2020
After noticing no mention of Mahatma Gandhi in the message by Trump, netizens took to Twitter, comparing his note with that of former US President Barack Obama.
Such a difference of class…
The autographs left behind at the Gandhi Memorial at Raajghaat by
1. The Trumps
2. Barack Obama pic.twitter.com/1L4gqB9QxK— Ur_Pawzz (@gainstALLOdds) February 24, 2020
When Obama visited the Mani Bhavan – where Gandhi used to stay while in Mumbai – in south Mumbai in 2010, his note in the visitors’ book read: “I am filled with hope and inspiration as I have the privilege to view this testament to Gandhi’s life. He is a hero not just to India but to the world.”
Five years later, in January 2015, after visiting the Raj Ghat in Delhi, Obama wrote, “What Dr Martin Luther King (Jr) said then remains true today. The spirit of Gandhi is very much alive in India today. And it remains a great gift to the world. May we always live in the spirit of love and peace among all people of all nations.”
A tale of two messages in #Gandhi home guestbooks. To the left @realDonaldTrump at Sabarmati Ashram today, to the right @BarackObama at Mani Bhavan, Mumbai 2010 (pic from https://t.co/yzNxgSOc0W ) #TrumpInIndia #TrumpinIndiaBBC #NamasteyTrump pic.twitter.com/MfwC1ovYcG
— Yogita Limaye (@yogital) February 24, 2020
Congress leader Manish Tewari tweeted: And this is what @barackobama had to say about the Great Mahatma possibly at Rajghat or Sabarmati. The distinction cannot be more stark.”
Tapas Dey (@TapasDeyINC), former Tripura MLA, tweeted: “No mention of Bapu Mahatma Gandhi Ji in the visitor’s book of Sabarmati Ashram, instead Mr. President @realDonaldTrump express his love to @narendramodi.”
No mention of Mahatma Gandhi by President Trump in his comments in the visitors book at Sabarmati ashram pic.twitter.com/EuSpH99gmC
— Nidhi Razdan (@Nidhi) February 24, 2020
Another Twitter user Martin Joseph (@martinjmsw1) tweeted about Trump’s hand writing.
“President Trumps comments in the visitor book of Sabarmati Ashram. The letters must be either in uppercase or lowercase but he used randomly mixed capitalization in writing. It’s known ‘StudlyCaps’. He must repeat his High school grammar classes.”
What was achieved out of hurried visit to sabramati ashram?
Note that @realDonaldTrump wrote on visitors note is actually a insult to Gandhi.
There is no mention of Mahatma Gandhi or Sabaramathi ashram experience in his note !!
Does @narendramodi endorse this?#WallOfDivison pic.twitter.com/QolziZw6Tt
— Karnataka Congress (@INCKarnataka) February 24, 2020