Over 1 lakh Indian-Americans watched a virtual rally for US President Donald Trump on Sunday, 19 July, pitching their support for the Republican Party.
#Hindus4Trump, organised by America4Hindus.Org, along with allied organisations like Overseas Friends of the Bharatiya Janata Party (OFBJP), was held across 48 states of the United States.
The virtual event was reported to be a major boost to the Trump-Modi friendship.
Al Mason, co-chair of the Trump Victory India American Finance Committee, joined the rally, catering to several questions and discussions raised by participants. Mason, a catalyst in galvanising the Indian-American vote in sway of Trump’s presidency and re-election, stated that according to his research, the Indian-American democratic vote is taking a Republican pivot under Trump.
“So far Republicans have had only 20 percent of the votes. Fifty percent of those (Democratic) votes are going to come into the president’s column (in battleground States),” said Mason. “You are the most powerful body in the group of Indian-Americans. And you have till today not realised your own value, your own power, which can make a president or which can break a candidate. This power has been realised by President Trump. He knows how important you guys are. He knows how important India is and how important the Indian-American relations is,” he said.
Some of the topics discussed on the virtual rally included the Americans4Hindu organisation's concerns regarding alleged Democratic support of 'leftists' and 'Islamists'; a need for an equitable merit-based Immigration policy; a need for Trump's support for alleged Hindu plight in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, as well as the need for Trump to appoint a Hindu leader to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.
(The organisation Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh USA was inadvertently mentioned as a participant to the online event. The name has been since removed.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)