First Indian-American Senator Kamala Harris announces her 2020 US presidential bid
Washington, Jan 21: Kamala Harris, the first Indian-origin Senator, Monday officially launched her campaign for the US presidential election in 2020 to take on President Donald Trump, saying she was "honoured" to announce her bid on a day when Americans celebrated Martin Luther King Jr who sought inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi.
A rising party star and vocal critic of President Trump, Harris, 54, is the fourth Democrat to join the battle for the party's nomination in the 2020 election.
"I am running for president," Harris said in a tweet along with a simultaneously released video message.
"Kamala Harris: For the People" is the theme of her campaign.
If elected, she would be the first woman and woman of colour to be the president of the United States.
"I love my country. This is a moment in time that I feel a sense of responsibility to stand up and fight for the best of who we are," she told the ABC News.
Explaining the significance of announcing her presidential bid on Martin Luther King Jr Day, Harris said the icon of American civil rights movement, who sought inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi, has always inspired her.
"The thing about Dr King that always inspires me is that he was aspirational. He was aspirational like our country is aspirational. We know that we've not yet reached those ideals. But our strength is that we fight to reach those ideals," she said.
"So today, the day we celebrate Dr King, is a very special day for all of us as Americans and I'm honoured to be able to make my announcement on the day we commemorate him," said the Indian-origin Senator whose mother was born in Tamil Nadu and African-American father from Jamaica.
Both came to the US to study and then settled here. Their parents divorced later. Her sister Maya Harris was part of the Hillary Clinton's campaign in 2016.
"The American public wants a fighter, and they want someone that's going to fight like heck for them and not fight based on self-interest, and I'm prepared to do that," Harris said.
"Truth, justice, decency, equality, freedom, democracy. These aren't just words. These are values we as Americans cherish and they are all on the line now," she said.
Harris was elected as the US Senator from California only two years ago, during which she had made a national presence for her taking a tough stand against President Trump and his policies.
"The future of our country depends on you and millions of others lifting our voices to fight for our American values. That's why I am running for president of the United States," Harris said in a passionate appeal in her video message.
"I am running to bring our voices together," Harris said urging her supporters to join her at a rally in Oakland on January 27.
"Let's do this together. Let's claim our future, for ourselves, for our children and for our country," she said.
The first Indian-origin former Attorney General of California has selected Baltimore, near Washington DC, in the East Coast as her 2020 campaign headquarters. Her second office would be based in Oakland, her birthplace.
Harris, who is the first Indian-origin US Senator and first black Senator from California, is the fourth Democratic woman leader to enter the presidential race.
The others being Senator Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand from New York and Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard from Hawaii.
Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro has also announced to enter the 2020 race.
It is expected to be a crowded Democratic primary race, the winner of which would grab the party's nomination and challenge President Donald Trump in the November 2020 presidential race. The Democratic primary begins early next year.
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Indian mobile hospital treats over 2,200 cyclone-hit people as New Delhi ramps up relief efforts in
Colombo (PTI): A mobile hospital set up by India in Sri Lanka has provided medical care to over 2,200 people affected by Cyclone Ditwah, as New Delhi ramped up its assistance to the flood-ravaged island nation with engineering support and delivery of fresh relief consignments, the Indian mission here said on Sunday.
Sri Lanka has been grappling with widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse triggered by the cyclone, leaving several districts isolated and severely straining the country's disaster-response capacity.
At least 627 people have been killed and 190 remain missing as of Sunday noon due to catastrophic floods and landslides caused by extreme weather conditions since November 16.
Sharing a social media post by the Ministry of External Affairs on its X handle, the Indian High Commission said a field hospital set up by India in Mahiyanganaya near Kandy has provided medical care to more than 2,200 people affected by the cyclone since December 5.
The hospital has also performed 67 minor procedures and three surgeries, it said. The field hospital was airlifted to Sri Lanka by an IAF C-17 aircraft along with a 78-member Indian medical team on Tuesday.
In another post, the mission said Indian Army engineers, working with Sri Lanka Army Engineers and the Road Development Authority, in Kilinochchi have begun removing a damaged bridge on the Paranthan–Karachchi–Mullaitivu (A35) road, a key route disrupted by the cyclone.
"This joint effort marks another step toward restoring vital connectivity for affected communities," it said.
India has additionally sent nearly 1,000 tonnes of food items and clothing contributed by the people of Tamil Nadu. Of these, about 300 tonnes reached Colombo on Sunday morning aboard three Indian Naval ships.
High Commissioner Santosh Jha handed over the supplies to Sri Lankan Minister for Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe.
India, on November 28, launched 'Operation Sagar Bandhu', a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) initiative, to aid Sri Lanka in its recovery from the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
Since the launch of the operation, India has provided about 58 tonnes of relief material, including dry rations, tents, tarpaulins, hygiene kits, essential cloths, water purification kits and about 4.5 tonnes of medicines and surgical equipment, the Indian mission said in a press release on Sunday.
Another 60 tonnes of equipment, including generators, inflatable rescue boats, Outboard Motors, and excavators, have also been brought to Sri Lanka, it said, adding that 185 tonnes of Bailey Bridge units were airlifted to restore critical connectivity along with 44 engineers.
Two columns of the National Disaster Response Force, comprising 80 experts and K9 units with specially trained dogs, assisted with immediate rescue and relief efforts in Sri Lanka.
Besides the field hospital in Mahiyanganaya, medical centres have also been set up in the badly hit Ja-Ela region and in Negombo. INS Vikrant, INS Udaygiri, and INS Sukanya provided immediate rescue and relief assistance to Sri Lanka.
Apart from the two Chetak helicopters deployed from INS Vikrant, two heavy-lift, MI-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force are actively involved in evacuations and airlifting relief material, the release said.
At the request of the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre, a virtual meeting was organised between DMC and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s National Remote Sensing Centre on Saturday.
Since the onset of the disaster, ISRO has been providing maps to assist DMC in its rescue efforts, the release said.
