India Caucus membership drive: Consul General Mulay Kicks off Campaign

Two members of the US House of Representatives, Kathleen Rice and Grace Meng, and several heads of the Indian American organizations, business leaders and community activists gathered in Albertson, Long Island, New York to kick off a drive to increase the membership of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, a move prompted by the Consul General of India in New York, Dnyaneshwar Mulay.

Congresswoman Kathleen Rice, the first term Representative for New York's fourth congressional district, announced that she was not only joining the India Caucus but would reach out to her congressional colleagues in an attempt to increase its membership. 'While the Indo US relations have blossomed under President Obama, the India Caucus has a vital role to play in taking this relationship to the next level', Rice said. 

Representative Meng who joined the India Caucus within weeks of taking office in 2013, had recently condemned the terrorist attack at the Pathankot airbase, and had urged the US officials 'to provide India with whatever assistance it may require'. Meng also assured her support of the membership drive of the India Caucus. Both congressional leaders were presented with honor plaques by Ambassador Mulay.

India Caucus is a bipartisan group of the members of the US House of Representatives, dedicated to strengthening ties between the United States and India. Formed in 1993, it quickly became the largest Caucus dedicated to a single country, with 186 members. Over the years, the Congressional Caucus has been a driver of India-US bilateral relationship, and played a vital role in the passage of the historic civilian nuclear deal. Unfortunately, in recent years, there has been a lot of turnover in the US Congress, with some members retiring and others losing elections; as a result the membership declined to nearly 110.

'The congressional recruitment drive initiated by the Indian American Voters Forum is the brainchild of Consul General Mulay, who has been the key player in this initiative, constantly reminding us that the Indian American community should lobby to strengthen the bilateral ties between our country of origin and the country of our adoption', says Varinder Bhalla, Chairman of the Forum. 'It is not the first time that we have taken such initiative; in 2009, Riti Bhalla, a television host and member of the Indian American Voters Forum successfully connected with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand to get her to join the Senate India Caucus.' 

Addressing the gathering, Padma Shri Dr. Sudhir Parikh narrated how the Caucus was formed in response to constant India bashing by then Congressman Dan Burton of Indiana. In 1993, Parikh played a leadership role in convincing several New Jersey representatives about the need to form the India Caucus.

Dr. Ajay Lodha, national President-elect of the American Association of Physicians from India (AAPI) and Dr. Vaijinath Chakote, President of the Queens  & Long Island chapter of AAPI appealed to other community leaders to join the initiative of the Indian American Voters Forum. Dr. Sunil Mehra, former President of the India Association of Long Island lauded the efforts of Ambassador Mulay in getting the community involved in the mission to 'strengthen the existing bond between India, the world's largest democracy and America, the world's oldest democracy.'

Animesh Goenka, former President of the Association of Indian in America commended NY State Senator Jack Martins who assured the Consul General that if elected, he would immediately join the Caucus. Martins is running for election to US Congress in November. 

Dr. Yashpal Arya, a renowned gastroenterologist and senior member of the Voters Forum stressed the need to take the congressional recruitment drive across the US and urged community leaders to connect with their representatives to join the India Caucus.

Emceeing the program, Riti Bhalla, currently a Senior at the New York University, challenged Representatives Rice and Meng: 'Several years ago, your colleague Congressman Frank Pallone had introduced a Resolution in the House in support of India's permanent membership in the UN Security Council. I wonder whether your colleagues in the India Caucus can revive that Resolution.' Both leaders indicated their willingness to explore. 

Among others, the meeting was attended by Padma Shri Dr. Dattatreyudu Nori, Beena Kothari, President of India Association of Long Island, Sunil Modi, President of AIA, Anu Jain of the Rajasthan Association of North America, Dr. Jagdish Gupta & Inder Bindra, former Presidents of the Nargis Dutt Memorial Cancer Foundation, as well as Satnam Parhar and Dr. Binod Verma, both former Presidents of the India Association of Long Island.

For more information about this news release, please contact Varinder K. Bhalla at [email protected] or 516.680.8037.