Hindutva Ganged Up Against Rashida Tlaib

by Dr. Aslam Abdullah 

Bhutada family in Sugarland, TX, was the major donor for Brenda Jones, challenging Rashida Tlaib in Michigan for the simple reason that Tlaib was a Muslim Palestinian. They supported Jones because they hated Muslims.

Why is Hindutva lobby that claims to represent Hinduism against a Palestnian=American Congresswoman, Rashida Tlaib? Did she ever speak against Hinduism? Did she ever criticize Hindu idols? Did she ever talk about a word against Hindu Americans or Hindu Indians? No one can attribute a single statement or sentence, Tlaib uttered against Hindu people, Hindu culture, or Hindu religion.

Yet in the Michigan March Democratic Primary, Hindus mostly, those belonging to religio-fascist groups such as Hindu Swayamsewak Sangh (HSS), Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Hindu American Foundation (HAF), not only contributed considerable sums to Tlaib’s opponent, Brena Jones, but also made phone calls to Hindus living in the MI District-13 to ensure her defeat by voting 100 percent against her.

In their campaign to defeat Tlaib, they accused her of all sorts of things. They told their members that Tlaib was a Hindu hater, supporter of Muslim terrorists, and a danger to India’s interest in US Congress, an enemy of Israel, India’s best friend in the Middle East.

They saw in Jones an opportunity to unseat her in the Primary, and they mobilized their resources in cooperation with AIPAC and other Zionist organizations within the Democratic party.

Hindu donors of Jones included both Republicans and the Democrats. It is essential to understand the contribution techniques of Hindutva groups in the US. The HSS, HAF, and VHP control most Hindu temples and Hindu communities, especially those run by Gujaratis and people from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra states from West and South India. The temples collect huge donations weekly, mostly in cash. Reports are the money is under-reported, as part of it ends up with these and similar organizations’ officials. The individuals keep the money and contribute to political candidates from their account. The non for Profit groups cannot make political contributions legally, but this method enables them to bypass the legal restrictions.

With the FBI’s help, the election commission and the IRS should investigate these practices as they amount to election fraud.

The Hindu individuals who contributed to Jones are well known for their anti-Islam rhetorics and their close connection with India’s Prime Minister, Modi’s organization RSS, responsible for the assassination of Mahatama Gandhi. They are reportedly known for their hatred against Muslims and their approval of Muslims’ lynching and raping of Dalit women. Interestingly, none of the five people who contributed $2800 to Jones were from Michigan.

One of them is Bharat Barai, a medical practitioner in Munster, IN, about whom one of his patients said, “I have nothing good to say about him, and the other said that “this office is ridiculously slow and unprofessional in my opinion.”

Three of the give contributors come from the Bhutada family located in Sugarland, Texas. Ramesh, Rishi, and Shraddha Bhutada contributed $8,400 to Jones. The family owns Star Pipe company and reported an annual sales of $166.27 million with $57 million profit. The company is a manufacturer and distributor of iron products for the water and wastewater industry. One of its customers was critical of its practices when he posted the following on their website.

“Do not load at this location. They ordered 14 feet of space for their shipment when the driver showed up; the load was not ready. They didn’t pay layover and the next day made us wait until noon and told us that their product would not fit in the space they have requested. Horrible service do not even waste your time picking uploads from their location. Very unprofessional.”

The fifth contributor is from Fremont, CA, a medical emergency doctor with Kaiser Permanente. He is a significant donor of organizations spreading the RSS ideology in the US. Many patients are reportedly fearful of visiting him because of his anti-Muslim and anti-Christian postures. It is important that such patients write to California Medical Board and the Kaiser Permanente management.

Shekhar Reddy, from plantation, FL, is with the Republican Party. He also contributed $2,800. His employer is Wilton Discount Liquor.

The contribution was a concerted effort among the six hate mongers, among many others. All of them contributed on July 22, 2020, 13 days before the Primary. Records of the donor’s phone conversation reveal that Meghani and Bhatuda were the mastermind who received RSS operatives’ instructions in India. The two had several conversations with people in India a few weeks before giving the contribution. It requires further investigation to establish direct interference of foreign fascist groups in the US election.

The half dirty dozen’s goal was to eliminate Tlaib and any other Muslim candidate, including Ilhan Omar, in the primaries. Hindutva hate mongers in Minnesota helped her opponents in the Primary. Regardless of their votes and money, both Tlaib and Omar won their primaries comfortably.

The Hindutva groups in the US are on a religious mission to halt Muslim presence in the US congress. They have enlisted the support of white supremacists and right-wing activists. By eliminating Muslims from the Congressional scene, they hope to create a more decisive lobby for Hindutva led Modi government. The fascists in India intend to annex the Pakistani side of Azad Kashmir, strip Muslim Indians of their citizenship, and secure a seat in the UN Security Council as a permanent member. Muslim opposition to India on human rights issues is an obstacle for the Hindutva.

In Texas-22, their candidate is Sri Preston Kulkarni, who is making rounds to mosques and Islamic centers showing a progressive face. However, anyone aware of Hindutva fascist tactics knows the difference between a mask and a real look.