An Indian organisation based in the United States that caters to the interests of the Hindu-American community endorsed the former UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak to become Britain's first Indian-origin Prime Minister, on Monday, 8 August.
The two finalists Sunak and UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss battled over their respective proposals to tackle the rising inflation in the country. The winner of this election will become the new Conservative Party leader and take charge as the British Prime Minister.
The US-based organisation is called the Republican Hindu Coalition (RHC) which was established in 2015 to act as a bridge between the Hindu-American community and Republican policymakers and leaders. The RHC supports Sunak because according to them, he stands for the organisation's values and principles.
"We endorse Sunak not just because he is a Hindu but like the Republican Hindu Coalition, Sunak fully embraces our core values and its founding principles: The Four F's: Free Enterprise with Limited Smaller Government, Fiscal Discipline, Family Values and Firm Foreign Policy--Sunak is a true champion of the conservative movement."Republican Hindu Coalition, US-Based Organisation endorsing Rishi Sunak in a statement.
Conservative Party members will be voting over the course of August via online and postal ballots. Supporters of Sunak urge these members to remember Sunak's record of supporting families during the COVID-19 pandemic in his role as the UK Chancellor.
Shalabh Kumar, RHC Founder, Chairman and CEO, said he urges conservatives in the UK and more than a billion members of the Hindu community across the world to "do their best to provide full support for Rishi's candidacy for Prime Minister of the UK, within the limits of British NEC rules."
"Rishi Sunak has my and the RHC's full endorsement. As the UK's new PM, Sunak will have extraordinary success. Not only is Sunak good for the United Kingdom but also its strategic allies, the United States and India."Shalabh Kumar, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Republican Hindu Coalition
Sunak became the first Chancellor to light Diwali diyaas outside his office-residence of 11 Downing Street in November 2020 and is a regular visitor of the temple where he was born in Southhampton.
According to RHC, Sunak's daughters Anoushka and Krishna also value the Indian culture.
Sunak recently shared that Anoushka performed Kuchipudi with her classmates for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations at Westminster Abbey.
(With inputs from the Press Trust of India)
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