Ritu Jha-
While Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom flirted with a presidential run in 2024, he ultimately realized the party was set on a Joe Biden re-election. But time flies in presidential politics and 2028 will be here before we know it.
Massachusetts Democratic Party activist Ramesh Vishwanath Kapur, president of U.S. India Security Council Inc, and a member of the Biden Victory Fund National Finance Committee, says Newsom is indeed running for president, in 2028.
Indica News caught up with Kapur recently after he held a fundraiser for Newsom’s Super PAC in Saratoga, California.
Indica: You helped raise $200,000 for the governor’s Campaign for Democracy. Your next fundraiser is July 7 in Boston, with others planned in New Jersey and Florida. What led you to host this fundraising event for Newsom, governor of a state on the opposite side of the country from Massachusetts?
Ramesh Kapur: He vetoed the Caste Bill for us, and now it’s our turn. It is very important that we support folks who take care of us. And that’s why I did a fundraiser for him. He is going to run for president and we are with him every step of the way because he is good to our community.
We are trying to work out and go to a dissenter’s backyard and do a fundraiser there. And then we also hope we can get him to meet supporters at a Hindu temple in Florida.
IN: Why do you want Newsom to visit temples?
RK: They go to other religious places like churches, gurdwaras, mosques, and synagogues, then why not a temple? We want to make sure that we create some competition with Kamala Harris. I would like to get Kamala Harris to go to four temples because she has the most credibility. If she can go to churches, mosques, and synagogues then why should we be defensive about Hinduism?
Florida is a battle state this time. She might win Florida, all the women are going to come out
and they’ll vote for the Democrats to make sure that abortion is legal in Florida. In Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Nevada there are temples all over, they can go to temples over there too to drum up support from our community.
I think he understands, he has already supported us by vetoing the Caste Bill. As the governor, he’s done whatever we asked him to do. Now it’s our time to deliver for him. And if he becomes the president, our community is going to be very well represented with him.
IN: What were some of the bigger issues you discussed with Newsom?
RK: We talked to him about artificial intelligence to get our community involved in it. The other thing I pointed out to him is that he has been to China, so he should also take a delegation to India. He has never been to India. We want him to go to India, and he’s agreed to our proposal. And the third thing we spoke to him about was his visit to a temple. We are working for it to happen in Florida.
IN: What are you hoping Newsom can do for Indian-Americans when it comes to AI?
RK: We have a lot of depth in artificial intelligence in our community, so I want him to take the leadership of that AI from California. We have to be careful as the AI can be abused too. One has to make sure that our community has a moral compass and we want to make sure that AI won’t be abused in the future. And I think we can do an excellent job in that since our religion is a very spiritual religion where the end does not justify the means. We can be a big asset to him in that facet of AI.
IN: What do you make of the state of the U.S.-India relationship, as seen through the lens of India’s recently concluded elections?
RK: Whenever politicians overreach, the electorate gives a sobering verdict. Now that the electorate of India has spoken, and told the politicians that at the end of the day, Muslims are also patriots. The verdict says that you overreached, it worked for a while and now it’s not working. All these ministers lost in the last elections. The only thing that saved the BJP and NDA was Odisha.
All nations have important issues like security. Likewise, India is critical to the United States’ national security. The recent election results in India will reflect on the bigger goals. It’s a good wake-up call for everybody. And at the end of the day, India is a democratic country with different cultures, food, and languages.
IN: Do you see Nikhil Gupta’s plot to kill Khalistan supporter Pannun as having any effect on U.S.-India relations?
RK: Sometimes we have to make sure that India is still a democracy. What the leaders do shows the way to the masses. They cannot act like Russia or Saudi Arabia. When you have friction with the populace or religion then the people at the lower level think they can do whatever they can without realizing that India is a democracy. But, the pendulum will swing back to the middle again. Hinduism needed a representation, there were 700 years of Muslim rule
and another 200 years of British rule during which no temples were built. There was a backlash in that regard and now it is moving back to the middle again. There was one extreme on one side and it is moving back again. India will move back again.”
