NEW YORK: Republicans among the Indian-American community have called on the community to be concerned about Democratic Presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama’s choice of Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate in the race to the White House this November. Reacting soon after the announcement that Sen. Biden would run on Obama’s ticket as Vice President, the Indian Americans For McCain released a statement saying, "First Barack Obama put out a memo that insulted Indian-Americans in 2007 and was accused of "engaging in the worst kind of anti-Indian-American stereotyping" about the community and about Americans doing commerce with India.
Now he has chosen a running mate who also ignorantly engages in Indian-American stereotyping." "Indian-Americans should have serious reservations about this ticket. John McCain has a solid record of support for Indian-Americans, US-India relations, US-India commerce, and he and his wife have been to India many times.
He is the best choice for the Indian-American community in November," said Kishan Putta, National Director of Indians For McCain. Last year, Sen. Biden faced sufficient criticism from the Indian American community and more so from the mainstream media for a comment that portrayed stereotypical images of the community.
At a campaign pit stop in Delaware, he had said to an Indian American that ‘In Delaware, the largest growth in population is Indian-Americans moving from India. You cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin’ Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent’.
The comment had led to widespread debate in the community about Sen. Biden’s perception on India and the Indian American community, although he had been at the forefront in the Senate in supporting the Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement. Major news channels last week, picked on the infamous Biden comment when they ran his profiles even as the announcement of his joining Obama as running mate surfaced.
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