US Democrat Pooja Sethi dares Paxton to condemn Bo French's attacks on Indian Americans

Washington, Nov 3 (IANS) Indian American Democrat Pooja Sethi, who is running for the Texas House of Representatives, has challenged Republican US Senate nominee Ken Paxton to condemn party colleague Bo French's posts targeting Indian Americans, accusing Paxton of courting the community's votes while staying silent. 

"Waiting for @KenPaxtonTX to condemn Bo French's bigoted attacks on Indian Americans. Or does that outrage disappear when he needs our votes?" Sethi wrote on X on the eve of Tuesday's election.

Sethi, the Democratic candidate for Texas House District 47 in Austin, was quoting a post by X user Vasant Bhatt, who said he had been told by sources that Paxton visited the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Irving on October 31.

"So you want to walk into our temples, kneel before our deities, and participate in our sacred worship when there's an election to win, while simultaneously associating yourself with and endorsing people who are unabashed Hinduphobes and racists?" Bhatt wrote. He added that he was "currently seeking photographic confirmation of the reported visit."

French, the Republican nominee for the Texas Railroad Commission, the state's oil and gas regulator, set off the row on September 13 with a post on X over a photograph of University of Texas students, many of them of South Asian descent, celebrating a football win.

"I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. I didn't believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined," French wrote. The post has been viewed more than 54 million times, according to X.

The same day, Paxton, who is the Texas Attorney General, posted: "I condemn racism in all its forms, including James Talarico saying white men are America's top terror threat and that he prays to overcome his own 'whiteness,' whatever that means." He did not name French. Talarico, a Democrat, is Paxton's opponent in the Senate race.

Talarico had earlier asked on X: "@KenPaxtonTX: will you condemn this blatant racism or will you cower to extremists?"

Sethi has made the issue central to her final pitch. "At a time when hate is on the rise, we have the opportunity to make history. We will not be intimidated. We will not be silenced. Hate has no home in Texas," she posted on Sunday.

If elected, Sethi would be the first South Asian woman in the Texas Legislature She is an attorney and a former chair of the Travis County Democratic Party.

Paxton's campaign did not immediately respond to the posts. Texas votes on Tuesday.

--IANS

lkj/rs