If you don't have a seat at the table, you're on the menu: Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi
New York: With an increasing number of people from the Indian-American community playing a significant role in US elections, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi said there is a realization among them that if you don't have a seat at the table, you're on the menu that is why they are voting and running for office in large numbers.
We are starting to realize that old adage that if you don't have a seat at the table, you're on the menu, Krishnamoorthi said during a virtual post-election political analysis hosted by leading nonprofit Indian diaspora organization Indiaspora.
"I think the Indian-Americans realize that neither they nor their families nor their priorities can afford to be on the menu so they're pulling up the proverbial seat to the table. And that means voting, but also running for office.
And so I encourage people to do more of that. Just please don't run in my district against me, he said with a laugh.
Amid increased divisiveness across the US, Krishnamoorthi, who won re-election to the US House of Representatives for a third term, said there is a need for a "boldest common denominator of crushing the coronavirus and repairing the economy to unite Americans.
I think that we have to find the boldest common denominator that unites us and work on those priorities first before tackling some of the other issues which obviously deserve attention but might provoke a little more disagreement in terms of the way forward, Krishnamoorthi said.
Krishnamoorthi was responding to a question by Indiaspora's founder M R Rangaswami on how he hopes to unite his constituents amid the increasing divisiveness being witnessed across the country.
Krishnamoorthi said the boldest common denominator that unites all of us is crushing the virus and developing a safe and effective vaccine that is distributed to everyone as well as repairing the economy and helping struggling businesses and families get through this thing at the same time that we're dealing with the health crisis.
Krishnamoorthi stressed that in order to deal with the virus, there is a need to take the politicians out of managing organizations like the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Health & Human Services. We need to put the scientists and the health care professionals back in charge, he said.
On the economic front, he said that right after the election, lawmakers will take up the issue of a stimulus package again and hopefully get it past the goal line.
Responding to a question on what his priorities will be going forward, Krishnamoorthi said he is the Oversight Chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, with direct jurisdiction of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Those agencies have become heavily politicized, he said adding that a big priority for him will be to depoliticize those agencies so that they can do their job and get America out of this pandemic as soon as possible.
The second big priority is to stabilize the economy and help industries that have been decimated by the pandemic, including airlines, hotels and hospitality, restaurant, and tourism.
They need help now more than ever because we don't want a situation where we basically allow them to die even as we're trying to save the patient so to speak on the operating table, which is the American economy.
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When is Modi govt going to pay Karnataka's MGNREGS workers their wages, asks Cong
New Delhi (PTI): Attacking the Modi government over key issues in Karnataka, the Congress on Monday questioned the "delay" in the vital Bagalkote-Kudachi Railway line project and also asked when it is going to pay the state's MGNREGS workers their wages.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh posed questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of his rally in Bagalkote in Karnataka.
"Why has the Modi Government failed to deliver the Bagalkote-Kudachi Railway line? Why is the Modi Government holding up the Upper Bhadra and Mahadayi projects? When will the PM pay Karnataka's MGNREGA workers?" Ramesh said in a post on X.
Elaborating on what he said were "jumla details", Ramesh said the Bagalkote-Kudachi line of the South-Western Railway has now been delayed by more than eight years.
As of today, only 33 per cent, or 46 km of the 142 km line has been completed, he said.
"Originally sanctioned in 2010-11 at an outlay of Rs 986 crore, the project has now seen its cost balloon to Rs 1,649 crore. Originally supposed to be completed in March 2016, the project is now slated for completion in 2027," Ramesh claimed.
Despite the Karnataka government providing the land for the project free of cost, and contributing 50 per cent of the construction cost, the Modi government has "failed" to deliver on this project, he said.
"Why is this vital rail project facing an 11 year delay? Is it attributable to the Modi Sarkar's incompetence or to its anti-Karnataka tendencies?" Ramesh said.
He further said that in the last year's Union Budget, the Modi government had proudly announced a 5,300 crore grant for the Upper Bhadra Project but more than a year later, state Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda has revealed that not a "single paisa" of this grant has been released.
"During his assembly election campaign, PM Modi had also claimed to resolve long-standing issues with the Mahadayi-Kalasa Banduri Nala Project. Yet, earlier this year, clearance for the project has been deferred by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change," Ramesh said.
These projects are crucial to expanding drinking water and irrigation access in a state that has been reeling under a severe drought, he noted.
Why has the Modi Government neglected these essential infrastructure projects, Ramesh asked.
"What vendetta does the PM have against the people of Karnataka?" the Congress leader said.
He said that in order to help alleviate the drought-related stress on the rural economy, the Karnataka government has sought to increase the number of working-days under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) from 100 to 150.
"There is a provision in the scheme to do so during periods of drought. However, the Modi Sarkar has not only failed to approve the extension of the scheme, it has also failed to release Rs. 1600 crore towards the payment of wages to those working under MGNREGS," Ramesh said.
When is the Modi government going to pay Karnataka's MGNREGS workers their wages, Ramesh asked.
