Obama transition team , Protest over appointment of Indian-American

by Sanjay Jha | November 10, 2008 at 10:33 pm

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Questions have been raised about the appointment of Sonal Shah's appointment as an advisory board member by US President-elect Barack Obama to assist his team in smooth transition of power before he takes charge in January.

A group of Non-Resident Indian organisations and individuals have launched a campaign against Sonal Shah, the only Indian-American in the transition team of the US president-elect Barack Obama, for her alleged links with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in India and have asked her to clarify her position.

Sonal Shah, who works for Google.org on their Global Development team, has been accused of having close links to the right wing Hindu organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh 's overseas's chapter.

Three Indian-American groups have protested the appointment of Sonal Shah in US President-elect Barack Obama's transition team, claiming

that she is closely associated with the VHP and warned against Hindutva "infiltration" into the power centres of the US society.

In a joint statement, Indian Coalition Against Genocide and Indian American Coalition for Pluralism and Non Resident Indians for a Secular and Harmonious India said they are holding consultations among themselves and like-minded Indian-American leaders on the issue.

The organisations have asked Shah to clarify her position about her association with the VHP and its "mother organisation" RSS.

The statement said they have avowed to increase their efforts to "educate the American politicians and business leaders about the attempts by the Hindu ultra-nationalist Hindutva movement to infiltrate the power centres of the US society by giving big donations and through volunteer work."