U.S. Elections 2024 results: Suhas Subramanyam wins Congressional race from Virginia
Washington (PTI): Suhas Subramanyam created history by becoming the first Indian American to be elected from Virginia and the entire East Coast.
Running for the US House of Representatives from the 10th Congressional District of Virginia, a Democratic stronghold, Subramanyam defeated Mike Clancy of the Republican Party.
He is currently a Virginia State Senator.
"I am honoured and humbled that the people of Virginia’s 10th District put their trust in me to take on the toughest fights and deliver results in Congress. This district is my home. I got married here, my wife Miranda and I are raising our daughters here, and the issues our community faces are personal to our family. It is an honour to continue serving this district in Washington," Subramanyam said.
He joins the Samosa Caucus in the Congress that currently comprises five Indian Americans – Ami Bera, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ro Khanna, Pramila Jayapal and Shri Thanedar.
Shri Thanedar was re-elected for the second consecutive term.
He has represented the thirteenth Congressional District of Michigan since 2023.
Raja Krishnamoorthi, representing the seventh Congressional District of Illinois since 2017; was reelected.
Subramanyam’s parents arrived in the US -- through Dulles Airport -- in the late 70s.
“Dulles Airport was like their Ellis Island and when they came here they wanted a better life and we never imagined that someone like me named Suhas Subramanyam could be in the US Congress. But we want to make that a reality, and it starts with people coming out and voting in Virginia in November,” he told PTI in an earlier interview.
"My mom is from Bangalore, and my dad's from Chennai. He spent a lot of time in Secunderabad as well, because his father was in the military, so there was a military base there. They decided to come here to build a good life. My mother in particular really liked the idea of becoming a physician in America,” he said.
“She and my father met in medical school in Bangalore and then came out here in the late 70s. They just taught me a couple of values. One, service is very important, giving back, making a good life. Education is also important. One of the things they also wanted me to do was make sure I stay in touch with my Indian roots as well," he said. "So I would go back to India in the summers all the time. I still have family there. It's very important to me to continue that heritage and really not run just because I'm an Indian American, but I have a lot of ideas I want to do, but run being proud of my background, my heritage,” he had said.
Responding to a question, Subramanian advocated for a strong India-US relationship.
“The US-India relationship is so important because India is one of the most important democracies on earth. And so we want to make sure we have a good relationship with other democracies in the global sphere,” he said.
“The US and India have a naturally strong relationship. A lot of Indian Americans live here. We have a large Indian diaspora. A lot of Indian students come here to study. And a lot of US companies have offices in India. We have a strong economic partnership. I think now we can start to look at what a defence partnership could mean and how we can work together on technology transfer, on just having common strategic defence goals. I think that will be a very important relationship for both countries long term. And it's I think it's something that even setting aside the fact that I'm an American is something that I think will be really good for our country moving forward,” he said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Odisha: Normalcy returns to violence-hit Malkangiri; internet services fully restored
Malkangiri (PTI): Normalcy returned to Odisha’s Malkangiri district on Monday, nearly a week after around 200 villages were damaged in violent clashes in a village, with the district administration fully restoring internet services, a senior official said.
Additional District Magistrate Bedabar Pradhan said internet services, suspended across the district on December 8 to curb the spread of rumours and misinformation following the clashes, were restored after the situation improved.
The suspension had been extended in phases till 12 noon on Monday.
The administration also withdrew prohibitory orders imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita within a 10-km radius of MV-26 village, where arson incidents were reported on December 7 and December 8.
Though the violence was confined to two villages, tension had gripped the entire district, as the incident took the form of a clash between local tribals and Bengali settlers following the recovery of a headless body of a woman on December 4, officials said.
ALSO READ: Why remove Mahatma Gandhi's name, asks Priyanka on move to replace MGNREGA
The violence broke out after residents of Rakhelguda village allegedly set ablaze several houses belonging to Bengali residents, forcing hundreds to flee. The headless body of Lake Podiami (51), a woman from the Koya tribe, was recovered from the banks of the Poteru river on December 4, while her head was found six days later at a location about 15 km away.
Officials said the district administration held several rounds of discussions with representatives of the tribal and Bengali communities, following which both sides agreed to maintain peace.
Relief and rehabilitation work has since been launched at MV-26 village, with preliminary assessment pegging property damage at around Rs 3.8 crore.
A two-member ministerial team headed by Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo visited the affected village, interacted with officials and locals, and submitted a report to the chief minister.
So far, 18 people have been arrested in connection with the violence, the officials said, adding that despite the withdrawal of prohibitory orders and restoration of internet services, security forces, including BSF and CRPF personnel, continue to be deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
On Sunday, Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi visited MV-26 and neighbouring Rakhelguda villages, and held discussions with members of both communities as part of efforts to rebuild confidence and restore peace.
More than two lakh Bengali-speaking Bangladeshis were rehabilitated by the Centre in Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts in 1968, and they currently reside in 124 villages of Malkangiri.
