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– FORDS, New Jersey
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan wants nonresident Indians to visit India and actively participate and contribute in helping to make their homeland more reliant and self-sufficient. Mahajan was addressing Indian-Americans at a luncheon reception held Nov. 16 at the Royal Albert’s Palace here. Mahajan, an eight-time Bharatiya Janata Party member of parliament from Madhya Pradesh, was in New York for the second meeting of the Preparatory Committee of the Fourth World Conference of Speakers of Parliaments at the United Nations. Consul General of India in New York, Dnyaneshwar Mulay, accompanied Mahajan for the Nov. 16 event.
The luncheon was hosted by the committee formed to hold Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Sept. 28 community reception at New York’s Madison Square Garden, Dr. Vithal Dhaduk, one of the main organizers of the Nov. 16 event, told Desi Talk. Dr. Dhaduk said the event recognized the several volunteers and members who worked tirelessly for Modi’s reception. More than 300 people attended the event.
The event began with Mahajan paying a floral tribute to the statue of Sardar Vallabhai Patel, which stands tall at the entrance of Royal Albert’s Palace. This was followed by a brief note of the financials of the committee by Dr. Dhaduk, and a speech by Dr. Bharat Barai, president of the Indian American Community Foundation, the point man for Modi’s visit. Barai along with the Overseas Friends of BJP and others, founded IACF. The chairman of IACF is Chandrakant Patel of Tampa, Florida, who is also the president of OFBJP; and the vice chair is H.R. Shah, chairman of TV Asia. The IACF was established in July primarily to organize for the Prime Minister’s visit.
In her address, Mahajan lauded the Indian-American community for their achievements both here and back home in India. “Work is not over, a lot needs to be done, especially in education and healthcare” she reminded the audience, and urged them to help in the various new initiatives undertaken by the Modi government.
Mahajan also attended the annual gala hosted by the Society of Indo-American Engineers and Architects (SIAEA) at the Grand Hyatt in Manhattan, Nov. 15. The following day, Mahajan and her delegation also visited the 9/11 memorial.
Speaking at the Fourth World Conference of Speakers of Parliaments, Mahajan said sustainability is a key element in current global discussions. “We strongly believe that our efforts to mainstream sustainability will remain hollow unless we are able to confront the issues of inequity in consumption of global resources and reducing the unsustainable ecological footprints of the developed countries,” she said, according to a transcript of her speech on National Journal, issued by the Ministry of External Affairs, India.
“In India, we worship earth, water, air, fire and space which are the five elements of nature. These ideals need to be embraced if we are serious about combating climate change and sustainable development,” she said. Born on April 12, 1943 in Chiplun of Ratnagiri district in Maharashtra, Mahajan became a municipal corporator in 1982.
A June 6 Press Trust of India describes Majahan as a soft-spoken, but battle-hardened leader who has risen from the ranks to the top post of Lok Sabha Speaker. She was unanimously elected Lok Sabha speaker this June, becoming the second woman after Meira Kumar to be elected to the post. This year Mahajan won the Lok Sabha elections for the eighth time, one of three members of the 16th Lok Sabha to do so, and the longest-serving woman member. She has been representing the Indore constituency of Madhya Pradesh since 1989.
Starting her political life at the age of 39, she became the deputy mayor and then an MP from Indore in Madhya Pradesh. She was a minister of state in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee cabinet from 1999 to 2004, holding different portfolios of human resources, communications, IT, petroleum and natural gas. A lawyer-turned-politician, Mahajan is known for her trademark simplicity, honesty and clean image besides her impeccable winning record.