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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Jharkhand horror: Man kills live-in partner, chops body into 40 pieces
Ranchi (PTI): A 25-year-old man, who works as a butcher, allegedly strangled to death his live-in partner and chopped her body into 40 to 50 pieces in a forested area in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, police said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Naresh Bhengra, was arrested.
The matter came to light after around a fortnight after the killing when a stray dog was found with human body parts near Jordag village in Jariagarh police station on November 24.
Bhengra was in a live-in relationship with the deceased, a 24-year-old woman also from Khunti district, in Tamil Nadu for the past couple of years. Sometime back, he returned to Jharkhand, got married to another woman without telling his partner anything and went back to the southern state without his wife to join her.
"The brutal incident occurred on November 8 when they reached Khunti as the accused who had married another woman did not wish to take her home. Instead, he took her to a forest near his house at Jordag village in Jariagarh police station and chopped the body into pieces. The man has been arrested," Khunti Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar told PTI.
Inspector Ashok Singh who investigated the case said the man worked in a butcher shop in Tamil Nadu and was expert in slicing chicken.
“He admitted chopping the body parts of the woman into 40 to 50 pieces before leaving those in the forest for wild animals to feast on. The police recovered several parts on November 24 after a dog in the area was seen with a hand," Singh told PTI.
Singh said that the woman, who was unaware of his marriage, pressured him to return to Khunti. After reaching Ranchi, they boarded a train on November 24 and headed to the man's village.
"Under a plan, the man took her to Khunti in an autorickshaw near his home and asked her to wait. He returned with sharp weapons and strangulated her with her dupatta after raping her. He then cut the body into 40 to 50 pieces and left for his home to live with his wife," Singh said.
The woman, however, had informed her mother that she had boarded a train and would be living with her partner, the police officer said.
Following the recovery of body parts, a bag was also found in the forest with the murdered woman's belongings including her Aadhaar card. The mother of the woman was called at the spot and she identified her daughter's belongings.
"The mother suspected the man behind the crime who after being nabbed by the police admitted to chopping the woman into pieces," the official added.
The incident has sent shockwaves among people in the region, with the Shraddha Walker murder case of 2022 still fresh in their memory.
Walker was killed by her live-in partner who chopped her body into pieces before dumping them in the jungle in South Delhi’s Mehrauli.
