In an unusual turn to the U.S. presidential campaign, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will address the Hindu citizens of the United States on October 15, announced Shalabh ‘Shalli’ Kumar, Chairman of the Republican Hindu Coalition (RHC).
Describing Mr. Trump as a pro-Indian leader, Mr. Kumar promised that if elected, the Republican candidate will transform India-U.S. ties by removing legal bottlenecks that prevent flow of high-tech weapons from the U.S. to India and by making immigration easy for Indians. The charity event, ‘Humanity United Against Terror’, aimed at the Hindu voters will be held in New Jersey as part of the strategy of the Trump team to mobilise necessary votes in the last few weeks of the campaign to defeat Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
The event is likely to feature performances by Malaika Arora Khan, Prabhu Deva and other Bollywood celebrities who will present India as a powerful mobilising force in the campaign season.
On September 14, Mr. Trump started his outreach to the Hindu voters in the U.S. and said “I look forward to joining my good friend Shalli Kumar, founder and chairman of the Republican Hindu Coalition for this terrific event. The Hindu community has made fantastic contributions to world civilisation and American culture and we look forward to celebrating our shared values of free enterprise, hard work, family values, and a strong American foreign policy.”
Mr. Kumar said that the U.S. under Trump presidency will help India access high-tech weapons. “U.S. laws continue to view India as a Soviet-ally as a continuation of the Cold War policies. This attitude prevents India from accessing high end weapons. As the President of the United States, Donald Trump will bring in the changes to help India access arms,” said Mr. Kumar.
Ambala-born Mr. Kumar said that the main aim of the Republican Hindu Coalition is preservation of the Hindu social values, pursuit of free economy, and stronger response to global terrorism. “The camel in the room is Islamic extremists who have formed a mafia. Islam has been hijacked by these people. The extremists do not represent the real Islam,” he said emphasising that Donald Trump is not against immigrants of Asian origin.
“There is not a bone in Mr. Trump’s body that is against the immigrants. He is against illegal immigrants and criminals. He wants immigration to be skill-based,” Mr. Kumar said. He promised that Mr. Trump will help thousands of Indians on the waiting list of green cards.
“The waiting list for the green card applicants is something like 50 to 75 years. If Donald Trump is elected, he will ensure that all these applicants are processed. U.S. economy can not succeed without Indian brains and 1.5 million strong Hindus of the U.S. will benefit from such a step,” he said.
Mr. Kumar said that as a first generation immigrant from Ambala, he had seen the struggle that Indians face as immigrants in the United States.
He promised that Donald Trump presidency would ensure an India-U.S. era ahead as compared to a Clinton victory, which he warned, would start the Sino-U.S. era.
