JD Vance hopes his Indian-Origin Wife Usha will convert to Christianity, says ‘that’s her free will’
Washington: US Vice President JD Vance has said that he hopes his Indian-origin wife, Usha Vance, will one day embrace Christianity, but added that her choice would remain her own.
Speaking at a Turning Point USA event at the University of Mississippi on Wednesday, Vance said, “Now most Sundays Usha will come with me to church. As I’ve told her and said publicly, do I hope eventually that she is somehow moved by the same thing that I was moved by in church? Yeah, I honestly do. Because I believe in the Christian gospel and I hope eventually my wife comes to see it the same way.”
He, however, clarified that her decision would not affect their relationship, saying, “If she doesn’t, then God says everybody has free will, so that doesn’t cause a problem for me.”
Vance also revealed that Usha grew up in a Hindu family “but not a particularly religious one.” He added that when they first met at Yale University, both of them identified as agnostic or atheist.
The Vice President further disclosed that he and Usha had agreed to raise their three children, Ewan, Vivek, and Mirabel, in the Christian faith, and that they attend a Catholic school.
Earlier this year, Usha Vance had discussed their interfaith family setup on Meghan McCain’s podcast Citizen McCain. “We send our kids to Catholic school, and we have given them each the choice — they can decide whether they want to be baptised Catholic,” she said.
Usha also shared that JD converted to Catholicism after the birth of their first child. “When you convert to Catholicism, it comes with certain obligations, like raising your child in the faith. We had a lot of real conversations about how to do that — I’m not Catholic, and I’m not intending to convert,” she explained.
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Women's reservation must be implemented without being made contingent on delimitation: CM
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said that the Women's Reservation Bill is a long-overdue reform that must be implemented immediately within the existing framework, without being made contingent on delimitation.
Terming the delimitation as the political re-engineering at the cost of southern states, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said that these states will stand united, speak in one voice, and defend the true spirit of federalism.
The leaders' statements came a day before the Constitutional Amendment Bill with provisions on women's reservation implementation and delimitation was tabled in the Lok Sabha.
"You are right in highlighting the larger implications of the proposed delimitation approach and the concerns it raises for southern states. We wholeheartedly support the Women's Reservation Bill - it is a long-overdue reform that must be implemented immediately within the existing framework, without being made contingent on delimitation," Siddaramaiah said in a post on 'X'.
He was replying to his Telangana counterpart A Revanth Reddy's post on 'X' with a letter, urging the former to unitedly resist moves to push a pro rata model to increase Lok Sabha seats, which would be highly detrimental and inimical to the interests of southern states.
"Any exercise that reshapes political representation must be undertaken with utmost care. The Union Government must engage all states in a transparent and consultative process, and ensure that fairness, federal balance, and consensus guide this critical decision," Siddaramaiah added.
Shivakumar said that this is not a delimitation, but political re-engineering "at the cost of southern states".
"The proposal to increase Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 850 will systematically reduce the voice of the South, while rewarding unchecked population growth elsewhere. This is nothing but punishing progress and good governance," he posted on 'X'.
Clarifying that Congress fully supports women's reservation and in fact, it was party's top leader Sonia Gandhi's vision and commitment that brought this dream to the national agenda, the Deputy CM said, "We demand that it be implemented without linking it to delimitation or seat expansion."
"I urge the Union Govt to not hide behind women's empowerment to push a deely unfair political agenda. Rushing such a massive restructuring of India's democracy during elections, without transparency or consultation, is deeply suspicious and unacceptable," he said.
Asserting that India's strength lies in balance not domination, and in fairness, not manipulation, Shivakumar said, "The Southern states will stand united, speak in one voice, and defend the true spirit of federalism."
"We will not allow the South to be politically marginalised."
