Indian-American Suneel Gupta geared up for Michigan primary

Agencies
August 6, 2018

Washington, Aug 6: Inspired by the Gandhian principle of ‘Be the change that you wish to see in the world’, Indian-American entrepreneur Suneel Gupta is seeking to enter U.S. Congress to fight against the special interests of the corporate sector, which he believes have peaked under the Donald Trump Administration.

“Our family has always been very principled in the ideals that if you don’t like what you see, you have to do what (Mahatma) Gandhi said, be the change, you cannot sit on the sidelines,” said Mr. Gupta, 38, as he explained the reasons for jumping into electoral politics, which is new to his illustrious family from Michigan.

His mother Damayanti Gupta was the first woman engineer with a degree at Ford Motor Company and his elder brother Sanjay Gupta is a popular CNN health reporter.

A ‘toss-up’ seat

Mr. Gupta, who holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management and a law degree from the Northwestern University, is running for the U.S. House of Representatives from the 11th Congressional District of Michigan. Given the current political climate, pundits have described this as a “toss-up” seat.

It is currently being held by Republican David Trott, who is not seeking his re-election.

Fighting special interests

The August 7 primaries will see Mr. Gupta contesting against four other Democrats for the party’s candidacy. As per latest figure from the Federal Election Commission (FEC), he has raised more than $1.3 million, which is more than any of his competitors.

The zeal to fight for the common people against the special interests, he says, comes from his mother. “She was on the other side of the border when Partition happened. They fled, and she ended up in a refugee camp as a little girl. My grandparents — her parents — spent every penny they possibly could to get her an education... in 1967, she became Ford Motor Company’s first female engineer,” he said.

Members of the Indian-American community in the district are not only providing him with financial support, but also with their time and sweat. “Because they believe that it’s time to send an Indian American to Congress from Michigan,” he said.

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News Network
June 4,2020

London, Jun 4: Meghan, Britain's Duchess of Sussex, has spoken about events following the death of George Floyd saying she was sorry that children had to grow up in a world where racism still existed and that current events in the United States were "devastating".

"I know you know that black lives matter," Meghan said in a video she recorded for students graduating from her old high school in Los Angeles which was aired on Wednesday.

The death of Floyd has become the latest flashpoint for long-simmering rage over police brutality against African Americans and led to nationwide protests, some violent, with curfews imposed in some cities to quell the disorder.

"For the past couple of weeks I've been planning on saying a few words to you for your graduation and as we've all seen over the last week what is happening in our country, and in our state and in our home town of LA is absolutely devastating," said Meghan, whose mother is African American and father is white.

"First thing I want to say to you is that I'm sorry, I'm so sorry that you have to grow up in a world where this is still present," she said in her message to the girls at the Immaculate Heart High School.

The duchess, a former US actress and wife of Queen Elizabeth's grandson Prince Harry, said she wanted to say "the right thing" and was nervous her words would be "picked apart".

"The only wrong thing to say is to say nothing. Because George Floyd's life mattered, and Breonna Taylor's life mattered, and Philando Castile's life mattered and Tamir Rice's life mattered and so did so many other people whose names we know, and whose names we do not know," she said.

Britain's royal family by tradition does not comment on political issues. However, Meghan and Harry stepped down from their official royal roles at the end of March and are now living in Los Angeles with their baby son Archie.

In her message, the 38-year-old reflected on her own memories of the 1992 LA riots.

"Those memories don't go away and I can't imagine that at 17 or 18 years old, which is how old you are now, that you would have to have a different version of that same type of experience," she said.

"That's something you should have an understanding of, but an understanding of as a history lesson not as your reality. So I'm sorry that in a way we have not gotten the world to the place you deserve it to be."

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News Network
March 11,2020

Jaipur, Mar 11: A 85-year-old man in Jaipur, who had returned from Dubai on February 28, has tested positive for coronavirus, a state government official said on Wednesday.

He was found presumptive positive in the first test on Tuesday and hence, a second test was conducted with fresh samples, the reports of which arrived late Tuesday night, Additional Chief Secretary, Medical and Health, Rohit Kumar Singh, said.

“The man who travelled to Dubai has been tested positive for coronavirus. It has been confirmed now,” Singh said.

“We have also got the manifest of the Spicejet flight he took from Dubai to Jaipur and are doing due diligence on that,” the official said, adding that intense contact tracing was underway.

The man has been kept in isolation at the SMS Hospital here.

“The man came to the hospital on Monday with symptoms of the virus. After the first test, his wife and son too have been kept in isolation at the hospital. The two, however, do not have coronavirus affliction symptoms,” Singh said.

A total of 235 people who came in contact with the octogenarian and his family have already been traced and are being monitored, he said.

Other contacts are also being traced, Singh added.

An Italian couple, who tested positive for COVID-19 last week, are also admitted in the hospital but their condition is improving, he said.

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News Network
June 26,2020

New Delhi, Jun 26: "Iam Indira Gandhi's granddaughter, not an undeclared BJP spokesperson like some of the opposition leaders," Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday said, as she alleged that the Uttar Pradesh government is threatening her through various departments for speaking the truth. Priyanka Gandhi's dare to the Uttar Pradesh government came days after the Agra administration asked her to withdraw within 24 hours the claim of high coronavirus deaths in the district.

The Congress general secretary in-charge UP East has accused the Yogi Adityanath government of indulging in propaganda instead of dealing with the pandemic. "As a public servant, my duty is towards the people of Uttar Pradesh. And this duty is to put out the truth before them and not to put forth government propaganda. The UP government is wasting its time by threatening me through its various departments," Priyanka Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

"They can take whatever action they want, I will keep putting forth the truth. I am Indira Gandhi's granddaughter not an undeclared BJP spokesperson like some of the opposition leaders," she said. This week, Priyanka Gandhi repeatedly attacked the Uttar Pradesh government over the "high" COVID-19 mortality rate in Agra and on other issues related to the state government's handling of the pandemic.

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