11/21/2020
Puneet for Lt Governor of VA- Asian Americans must support him rising above party affiliation and ideology
-Bip Pal 11/21/2020
I was so delighted when Puneet ( Puneet for Lt. Governor) declared his campaign for Lt Governor race of VA. Remember in this Congress or in the past Governor race, so far all the Indian candidates are second generation Indians. Puneet is an exception. He is a first generation immigrants just like me and yet he has made to top of US political echelon. And it matters a lot since he is highly aware of South Asian affairs. Yes he does speak of suffering of Indian immigrants whose GC processing is held up by country quota. You won't hear that from VP Elect Kamala Harris because she is a second generation and has no idea of plights of the fresh immigrants. If elected, Puneet will be first Asian American Lt Governor in Virginia.
I am asking all the Asians to vote for Puneet, not just because he is my friend, or an Indian or an Asian. I am asking to vote for him, to empower his rise in US politics for a very genuine and deeply concerning reason. I have seen firsthand how he has worked tirelessly in DC politics to protect the rights and safety of religious minorities in South Asia. He can be the voice of all religious minorities of South Asia in American politics. I recall many evenings in his house in McLean where Puneet has explained to me how different minority religious groups have approached to him and he has been successful to persuade the senators to write to the head of the respective countries urging the protection of the religious minorities.
You may ask, why then Lt Governor race? He could run for Senate which oversees external affairs. But I do believe he made the right choice to run for Lt Governor race because given both the incumbent VA senators are democrats, Puneet needs to get his footing across the length and breadth of the state first. VA senate is divided and with a thriving Asian community in the state, he can play a very critical role
We inherited a fractured, wounded and divided South Asia left by the British Raj where countries have been partitioned based on religion. Today lives of millions of Hindus in Bangladesh and Pakistan are in danger. Even Shia, Ahamedia and Christians are struggling in Pakistan. Tamils are persecuted in Srilanka. Condition of minorities in India is no better-we all know situation is rapidly deteriorating in India as well.
Over the last one decade, I have seen Punteet has represented persecuted minorities from South Asia and has taken their voice to Senate and Congress.
It is extremely important to empower Puneet in VA politics which has a very high Asian population.
He has been a hardworking businessman. He knows the pain of small business owners as he belong to them. He has also seen how Indian H1B workers are suffering and as they have no guarantee of getting green card even after 15 years of waiting. In US, there is voice for illegal immigrants because of active participation of Latino community. But there is no voice for the legal merit based immigration of Indians, millions of whom are stuck in "country based quota" system.
This is the sordid case of democracy. It doesn't run by how genuine & rightful is your need but how much you have been able to push your voice & concerns to US representatives. That's why Puneet's election for Lt Governor matters. It is of outmost necessity for 1.8M strong Indian American to contribute to his campaign so that plight of the Indian immigrants can be heard louder in US politics.
Please contribute to his campaign in the following link :
https://www.puneetforlg.com/
