Congressional hopeful Navraj Singh, who is running
on the Republican ticket for California’s
27th district in the November elections, addressed
a dinner held in Los Angeles in his honor and
called on supporters of both major US parties to
unite to make much-needed changes in Congress.
“Our founding fathers never thought there would be career politicians. We should get together, whether we are supporters of Barack Obama or John McCain, nothing will change until we change Congress,” he told the gathering.
The dinner was hosted August 30 by Rajashree & Bikram Choudhury at Bikram's Yoga College of India in Los Angeles.
Recalling his early life in India, Mr. Singh said he grew up in a small town where there was only one TV set, a black & white. It was on that TV set that In 1961 he watched the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy. The famous lines from that inaugural speech -- “ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country” – are as applicable today as we face difficult times. Each day, every member of Congress should ask aloud ‘what you can do for your country… at that point we’ll have a better country,” he said amidst applause.
He observed that the nation was going through difficult times with gas prices sky rocketing and the borders less than secure. In the meantime, politicians were being irresponsible by promising handouts to people. “Where’s the money going to come from?” he asked, adding that inevitably this would lead to taxes being raised. “This policy of raising somebody’s taxes and giving it to someone else is socialism.”
If elected, Singh said he would take the first step towards change by not accepting a salary or health benefits. “I will donate my salary to the widows of the servicemen fighting in Iraq and not take any health benefits,” he said, adding that, “All Americans should have the same health insurance as members of congress. Let them [representatives] pay for their insurance and we will pay for ours. The time to change congress is now.”
Elaborating on his momentous decision to run for office, Mr. Singh quoted a line from former Chrysler chairman Lee Iacocca: “There is a time to learn, a time to earn, and a time to return.” He added that having arrived in the US with $7 in his pocket and made a success of his life, it was now payback time. “I want to return to America what I have enjoyed all these years.”
Mr. Vikram Das addressing the guests touched on why the Singh bid for Congress was significant. Maintaining that India was ‘the largest democracy in the world’ he said there were still inroads to be made in the US. “In my eyes, America is not one hundred democratic … still there is little bit prejudice. Women cannot be president, Jews cannot be president, foreign people cannot be president. Now we are trying to break through that wall,“ he said referring to the Singh campaign.
Dr. Reddy, founder of the India Caucus, Mrs. Rajashree Choudhury, and Dr. Choudhury were the other speakers at the event.
For more information: (310) 967-3477
“Our founding fathers never thought there would be career politicians. We should get together, whether we are supporters of Barack Obama or John McCain, nothing will change until we change Congress,” he told the gathering.
The dinner was hosted August 30 by Rajashree & Bikram Choudhury at Bikram's Yoga College of India in Los Angeles.
Recalling his early life in India, Mr. Singh said he grew up in a small town where there was only one TV set, a black & white. It was on that TV set that In 1961 he watched the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy. The famous lines from that inaugural speech -- “ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country” – are as applicable today as we face difficult times. Each day, every member of Congress should ask aloud ‘what you can do for your country… at that point we’ll have a better country,” he said amidst applause.
He observed that the nation was going through difficult times with gas prices sky rocketing and the borders less than secure. In the meantime, politicians were being irresponsible by promising handouts to people. “Where’s the money going to come from?” he asked, adding that inevitably this would lead to taxes being raised. “This policy of raising somebody’s taxes and giving it to someone else is socialism.”
If elected, Singh said he would take the first step towards change by not accepting a salary or health benefits. “I will donate my salary to the widows of the servicemen fighting in Iraq and not take any health benefits,” he said, adding that, “All Americans should have the same health insurance as members of congress. Let them [representatives] pay for their insurance and we will pay for ours. The time to change congress is now.”
Elaborating on his momentous decision to run for office, Mr. Singh quoted a line from former Chrysler chairman Lee Iacocca: “There is a time to learn, a time to earn, and a time to return.” He added that having arrived in the US with $7 in his pocket and made a success of his life, it was now payback time. “I want to return to America what I have enjoyed all these years.”
Mr. Vikram Das addressing the guests touched on why the Singh bid for Congress was significant. Maintaining that India was ‘the largest democracy in the world’ he said there were still inroads to be made in the US. “In my eyes, America is not one hundred democratic … still there is little bit prejudice. Women cannot be president, Jews cannot be president, foreign people cannot be president. Now we are trying to break through that wall,“ he said referring to the Singh campaign.
Dr. Reddy, founder of the India Caucus, Mrs. Rajashree Choudhury, and Dr. Choudhury were the other speakers at the event.
For more information: (310) 967-3477