Two Indian-Americans lead campaign against trump nominee Neomi Rao
Washington, Feb 5: Two leading Indian-American women have led the Democratic party's move to oppose the nomination of fellow community legal luminary Neomi Rao for the prestigious and powerful US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, citing her "excuses" for sexual assault and "hostility" to the civil and human rights as reasons.
US President Donald Trump had announced Rao's nomination in November while celebrating Diwali at the White House. Trump had nominated her in place of Justice Brett Kavanaugh who in October was sworn in as the Supreme Court judge.
"Neomi Rao made excuses for sexual assault, blocked women's access to reproductive health and would allow health care providers to deny care to LGBTQ patients," said Indian-American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal.
"This is simply not appropriate for someone who wishes to serve on a federal bench," said Jayapal, the first Indian-American woman ever elected to the House of Representatives.
Senate Judiciary Committee "should reject" Rao, she said on Monday.
Now considered as among the leading Democratic lawmakers, Jayapal was recently re-elected for her second consecutive term to the US House of Representatives.
If confirmed by the United States Senate, Rao, 45, would be the second Indian-American after Sree Srinivasan in this powerful court, which is considered a step below the US Supreme court.
However, unlike the nomination process of Srinivasan, wherein the entire Indian American community was united and campaigned aggressively for his confirmation, Indian-Americans are a bitterly divided lot this time.
"Her controversial writings set the stage for the damage she has done as President Trump's Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), where she has led the Trump administration's aggressive regulatory agenda to undermine civil rights and public protections," said Vanita Gupta, a leading Indian-American legal luminary.
"Rao's demonstrated hostility to the civil and human rights of all should disqualify her from a lifetime appointment on the federal judiciary. We urge all senators to reject her nomination," Gupta said in a strongly worded statement.
She alleged that Rao had already proven that she is incapable of serving as a fair and impartial judge on the federal bench.
"Her past is her prologue," said Gupta, who currently is president and the CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
Rao is slated to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee for her confirmation hearing on Tuesday.
She is expected to face tough questions from the Democratic members of the Senate judiciary Committee including the Indian-origin Senator Kamala Harris.
The White House did not immediately respond to questions on the allegations against Rao.
In her current role, Rao has played a key role in regulatory reform, which according to the White House saved American families and businesses USD 23 billion in fiscal year 2018 by getting rid of unduly burdensome and unnecessary regulation.
Prior to her service as OIRA Administrator, Rao was a professor of structural constitutional law, administrative law, and legislation and statutory interpretation at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University.
She founded the Law School's Center for the Study of the Administrative State and focused her scholarship on the political and constitutional accountability of administrative agencies and the role of Congress.
She has served in all three branches of government including Associate Counsel and Special Assistant to former President George W Bush.
In between government service, Rao practised in the London office of Clifford Chance LLP, specialising in international law and commercial arbitration.
"Neomi Rao, who was just nominated to replace Brett Kavanaugh on the DC Circuit court, has no business being anywhere near the federal bench," said Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.
After graduation from law school, Rao clerked for Judge J Harvie Wilkinson III on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and for Justice Clarence Thomas on the United States Supreme Court.
She received her B A from Yale University and her JD from the University of Chicago.
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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.
