Washington:
Indian and South Asian groups on Monday congratulated President elect Joe Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris on their historic win, saying they look forward to the opportunity to push for progressive and inclusive policies for the community. Following a tense week of vote tallying, Democratic presidential candidate Biden, 77, on Saturday won the state of Pennsylvania and vaulted ahead in the race to become the next president of the United States.
Biden’s win in the key battleground state put him over the threshold of 270 electoral votes, cutting off all avenues for his opponent, incumbent Republican President Donald Trump. As Biden’s vice president, Harris, 56, will make history in myriad ways, becoming the first woman – and the first woman of colour – to occupy the office.
South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) said that it looks forward to the opportunity to push for progressive and inclusive policies for South Asian Americans across the US with the new administration. “This election opens up greater potential for pushing the policies that matter to our communities. We will rely on the same vigilance that propelled historic voter turnout and accurate vote counts to hold this administration accountable to our communities,” Lakshmi Sridaran, the executive director of SAALT, said.
She said the mandate means a complete overhaul of the immigration system that ensures a pathway to citizenship for all, COVID-19 relief packages that include immigrants of all status, increased language access resources, an end to detention and the militarisation of US borders and the transformation of policing as we know it. “The Indian-American community was elated when Biden selected Senator Harris as his running mate and it was a great honour and prestige for the Indian-American community,” Dr Thomas Abraham, the chairman of Global Organisation of People of Indian-origin or GOPIO, said. “In spite of close Trump-Modi relation, a very high percentage of the community went with Biden-Harris ticket. In fact, in this close election, community votes have helped Biden to win the election,” he added.
Rishi Bhutada, a member of the Hindu-American Political Action Committee, said they congratulate President-elect Joe Biden for his imminent victory and look forward to working with him and his administration. “Hindu issues are American issues, and Mr Biden has laid out a strong Hindu and Indian-American agenda that we look forward to fulfilling together,” he said.
In a statement, Hindu American Foundation (HAF) congratulated Biden and Harris on their election victory. HAF looks forward to working with the Biden-Harris administration to address issues of mutual concern and interest to the Hindu American community, it said.
“There is a long list of Hindu American legislative priorities and core issues that we believe are of fundamental interest not just to Hindu Americans but to all Americans,” said HAF executive director Suhag Shukla..
