NY Supreme Court Judges & Public Officials Attend Reception for CG Riva Ganguly Das

Several judges of the New York State Supreme Court and public officials from Long Island joined a community reception for the Consul General of India, Ambassador Riva Ganguly Das, in Albertson, Long Island, hosted by the Indian American Votes Forum. In attendance were Supreme Court Justice Steven Bucaria, Justice Bruce Cozzens, Justice Ruth Balkins, Justice Denise Sher, District Court Judge Anthony Paradiso, New York Assemblyman Thomas McKevitt and former Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi. Nearly 85 prominent members of the community were present including Padamshree Dr. Sudhir Parikh, Padamshree Dr. Dattatreyudu Nori, many other prominent physicians, community activists, business leaders and heads of organizations.

Ambassador Das met privately with the judges and members of the organizing committee of the Indian Forum, Chairman Varinder Bhalla, Dr. Ajay Lodha, Dr. Vaijinath Chakote, Dr. Yashpal Arya, Dr. Sunil Mehra and Animesh Goenka, and discussed the possibility of inviting a delegation of American judges to visit India. 'I am very welcoming of the idea of an exchange program of the judiciary and I hope that soon one day it will come true', said Justice Bucaria.

Bhalla apprised the Consul General of its recent initiative to recruit members of the US Congress into the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans and its recent success in having Congresswoman Kathleen Rice join the Caucus. Dr. Parikh, a key player in promoting the idea of forming the Caucus in 1993 also spoke about its role in 'furthering the relationship between our two democracies, our nations' shared interests from global security to trade and international prosperity.' Suozzi, candidate for election to US Congress, stressed his longstanding association with the Indian American community on Long Island, and promised, 'I will certainly join the India Caucus if I am elected in November and work to strengthen the bond between the world's largest democracy and the world's oldest democracy.'

The Forum posthumously honored the late Dr. Banad Viswanath for his extraordinary community service. The Consul General and Assemblyman McKevitt presented a Citation to his son Dev Viswanath on behalf of the New York State Assembly. Dr. Viswanath founded Vision of Asia, the first Indian American TV show in 1976, for the South Asian diaspora, which was expanded in 1986 to ITV Gold, the first 24/7 cable TV channel in the United States, bringing the latest news and culture of the Indian subcontinent to television screens in the U.S. 

Founded in 2003, the Indian American Voters Forum promotes voter registration drive and conducts debates among political candidates running for election at the local, state and federal level. The Forum has also been instrumental in getting numerous governors, senators and congressional leaders to participate in the celebrations of the India Independence Day and Republic day.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

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

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

CAPTIONS:

PIC 1: 

Seated L to R: Dr. Sudha Parikh, NY Supreme Court Justice Ruth Balkins, CG Ambassador Riva Ganguli Das, Justice Denise Sher and Mary Cozzens.

Standing L to R: Dr. Yashpal Arya, Dr. Vaijinath Chakote, Justice Bruce Cozzens, Padamshree Dr. Dattatreyudu Nori, Deputy Consul General Dr. Manoj Kumar Mohapatra, Justice Steven Bucaria, former County Executive Tom Suozzi, District Court Judge Anthony Paradiso, Varinder Bhalla, Dr. Sunil Mehra, Dr. Ajay Lodha, Padamshree Dr. Sudhir Parikh and Animesh Goenka.

Pic 2:

Dev Viswanath received Honor Citation posthumously honoring his late father with Dr. Banad Viswanath, with Varinder Bhalla, NY State Assemblyman Tom McKevitt and Consul General Riva Ganguly Das.

Seated L to R: Dr. Sudha Parikh, NY Supreme Court Justice Ruth Balkins, CG Ambassador Riva Ganguli Das, Justice Denise Sher and Mary Cozzens. Standing L to R: Dr. Yashpal Arya, Dr. Vaijinath Chakote, Justice Bruce Cozzens, Padamshree Dr. Dattatreyudu Nori, Deputy Consul General Dr. Manoj Kumar Mohapatra, Justice Steven Bucaria, former County Executive Tom Suozzi, District Court Judge Anthony Paradiso, Varinder Bhalla, Dr. Sunil Mehra, Dr. Ajay Lodha, Padamshree Dr. Sudhir Parikh and Animesh Goenka.