Sikh councilman called ‘terrorist’ in US, hits back at Trump’s ‘ignorant’ supporter
Monday, 23/05/2016
http://paper.hindustantimes.com/epaper/viewer.aspx
NEW YORK: Called a “terrorist” on Twitter by a supporter of US presidential aspirant Donald Trump, a Sikh-American councilman of Indian-origin hit back at him, calling him an “ignorant”.
Ravinder Bhalla, city council member at large and council president of Hoboken, New Jersey, posted a message on Twitter about the council approving a waterfront multiuse pathway. After Bhalla sent out the tweet, Robert Dubenezic — an open supporter of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee — expressed shock that Bhalla was a councilman.
“How the hell did Hoboken allow the guy to be councilman? Shouldn’t even be allowed in the US #terrorist,” Dubenezic tweeted on Thursday.
Bhalla was quick to answer: “Sir, I am born and raised in America. You clearly don’t know what it means to be an American...#ignorant.”
“With a lot of the rhetoric, we’re hearing from people like Donald Trump about Muslim Americans and people who are perceived to be from a Muslim background. I think the spread of Islamophobia from our national leaders sends the wrong message,” Bhalla told a news agency in the US.
Bhalla said he hoped this episode shows people that words can be hurtful and that discriminating on the basis of how someone looks shouldn’t just be ignored. “People should be educated on different faiths and backgrounds, so that diversity is celebrated,” he said, adding: “America is, after all, a nation of immigrants. And if we work together, instead of against each other, we’ll accomplish so much more.”
Many voiced their support for Bhalla, including elected officials US representative Bonnie Watson-Coleman and Hoboken mayor Dawn Zimmer, members of the SikhAmerican community, and his constituents.
Bhalla is also an attorney and a founding member of the national Sikh Bar Association. He earned national recognition for leading a successful challenge to the New York Police Department for restricting the religious practice of a Sikh officer, and he successfully challenged the search policy of the Federal Bureau of Prisons after he was asked to remove his turban in order to see a client.
