Idea that Harris will be more distant to India is mistaken: Neera Tanden

Washington: The idea that Vice President Kamala Harris, whose mother was from Chennai, will be more distant to the Indian government is mistaken, a top Indian American adviser to President Joe Biden has said.

“Yeah, I find that so odd,” Neera Tanden, Domestic Policy Advisor to the US President told PTI when asked about the concerns of a group of Indian Americans about India-US relationship under the Harris administration.

“Because you were talking about a woman who's actually been to India, who grew up, has experiences. She has memories of her grandfather who supported the independence movement. She took walks with her grandparents in the morning as they were talking about politics and the impact it can have really as it relates to the call for independence in India,” Tanden said.

“I mean, we've never had a leader who has experiences like that in American history. She's a person who has Indian relatives. The idea that she'll be less, more distant to the Indian government strikes me as so just mistaken,” she said.

So, I think people should really think about what that feels like to have a leader who understands our community in this really profound way, because again, her mom was many of our moms strong mother willing to really take on this unimaginable journey in order to really do better for her own life and her children's lives, Tanden said.

Tanden said this is an important moment in American history.

“This moment in time is so important because I do really think there's a question about whether we're going to move forward, whether Indian Americans will be seen as really part of America's fabric or social fabric, our leadership, or whether we're going to have a more constricted view of what it is to be American and who our government should work for, as the president likes to say, whether our government and our country is for all of us or just some of us,” she said.

“I'm really proud of the fact that the president and vice president have been strong advocates for ensuring that everyone has a seat at the table and they demonstrate that by the really profound leadership roles they've given Indian Americans in this administration,” Tanden said.

The issues she hears from the Indian American community are really fundamentally about equal opportunity, she said.

“So many people in our community have come here as immigrants. They've come here for opportunity and are trying to make sure that they have the same opportunities as everyone else. A lot of them are entrepreneurs. They've really focused on support for small businesses and ensuring that small businesses have access to support,” she said.

“That's been a hallmark of the vice president's leadership in the White House is ensuring that small businesses are getting financial support in tax incentives, et cetera. They're also very focused on the quality of education and quality healthcare quality education, because I do think our community has been particularly focused on ensuring access to good quality schools and access to higher education,” she said.

“That’s been the hallmark of the president, the vice president's leadership. They've made college more affordable, expanded Pell Grants, really opening the door of college to more people. They've also focused on ensuring that everyone has access to healthcare, which I know has been crucially important in our community as well,” Tanden said.