Indian-American Ro Khanna, who previously
served in the Obama Administration as one of its top trade officials,
today announced his Congressional bid for the 2014 general elections.
Though it was expected for long time, 36-year-old Khanna would contest
against his own Democratic party incumbent Mike Honda from California's
17th Congressional district. The new California laws allows two
opponents from the same party to run against each other in the general
election. Author of best seller "Entrepreneurial Nation", Khanna has
already impressed political pundits with his fund raising skills. As
per the latest filing reported with the Federal Election Commission,
Khanna has already amassed USD 1.2 million for his congressional bid.
"People come here from around the world to put their dreams into action -
that's the promise of America, and it's why my parents came here from
Asia," Khanna said announcing his Congressional bid. "But Silicon
Valley is succeeding in spite of Washington - not because of it. I'm
going to wage a campaign of ideas on how we can thrive in a world
economy where success depends on education," he said. Khanna said his
campaign will employ cutting edge tactics honed during both Obama
presidential campaigns and will use people-focused, data-driven
strategies and a digitally-savvy approach to connect with voters and
build grassroots support. A longtime Bay Area resident, Khanna returned
to Fremont after serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary at the US
Department of Commerce, where he was responsible for managing 108
offices dedicated to helping companies in the United States improve
exports and increase innovation. During his tenure, Khanna also served
on the White House Business Council where he demonstrated his unifying
approach to problem-solving by bringing labor unions to the table to
help develop trade strategies - an approach that marked a significant
departure from previous Commerce Department practice. Khanna's fund
raisers have attracted top Democratic leaders including Nancy Pelosi,
the former speaker of the US House of Representatives, and eminent
Indian-Americans like venture capitalist Vinod Khosla. According to FEC
filing, some of the top donors include Google investor Ram Shriram,
Tibco founder Vivek Ranadive, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, entrepreneurs
Talat and Kamil Hasan, venture capitalist Yogen Dalal, and political
activist Shefali Razdan Duggal. Khanna has roped in several members of
the Obama's re-election campaign team, including Steve Spinner, who will
serve as his campaign chair.
Congress leader Manishankar Aiyar attracted opposition BJP's ire today in Rajya Sabha when he said he was not interested in listening to speech of a BJP member on vote on account, prompting the Chair to adjourn the House amid uproar. During the Zero Hour, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien allowed Aiyar, who wanted to ask a question, to do so, which was opposed by BJP members. Kurien asked Aiyar whether he yielded to allow others to speak, to which he said he had no objection and he can ask his question later. As the House got ready to initiate discussion on Vote on Account, Kurien said, "Let us reduce the discussion to two hours from four hours," which was opposed by BJP members including Piyush Goyal who was given a chance to speak on Vote on Account. When it was agreed that discussion will take place as per schedule, Aiyar remarked he was not interested in listening to the speech by BJP member. "You had given me the chance to ask a question
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