Exactly a week ago on last Wednesday, a war veteran opened fire on two Indians in Kansas city killing one, Srinivas Kuchibotla, and injuring Alok Madasani gravely. There was a third victim in this shooting, an American who was trying to stop the veteran from attacking these two. The man shouted racial slurs ‘get out of my country’ and ‘terrorists’ while opening fire.
The two Indians were working at GPS maker Garmin and were close friends. The accused has been charged with first degree murder and two attempted murders. The accused then fled 70 miles away from where he told a bartender reportedly that he thought he shot two Iranian people. Sunayana Dumala, the widow of Kuchibotla on Friday demanded that “I need an answer from the government, What are they going to do to stop this hate crime?”
The USA President Donald Trump, who is a Twitter addict has not yet made any comments condemning the attacks. When the president during his campaign said, “I am a big fan of Hindu, I am a huge fan of India. Big big fan” at an Indian convention in the US, people were elated and expected him to stick with them through thick and thin. But a week has passed since the shooting incident and the President has not yet posted any comment about the incident or condemned the attacks.
After the attacks, the President has been active on twitter and has tweeted about Oscars, Government matters and also the immigration ban but has not mentioned one topic about hate crime. Also, the administration has initially named it absurd to relate Kansas shooting with the Trump’s anti Muslim travel ban and executive orders. White House press secretary Sean Spicer later likened the shootings to the “equally disturbing” recent wave of anti Semitic attacks.
An editorial in the Kansas City Star daily, wrote about Trump’s silence and wrote about the presidential address wherein he condemned radical motive acts in the Country. They wrote, “Surely the White House team could have cobbled a statement of some sort, a response to at least address growing fears that the US is unwelcoming of immigrants, or worse, that the foreign born people need to fear for their lives here.” They also added, “The deadly incident in Olathe has resonated across the country and even around the globe.”
With threats & hate crimes on rise, we shouldn’t have to tell @POTUS to do his part. He must step up & speak out.https://t.co/QKKyXyuqNM
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) February 27, 2017
Meanwhile, the ex-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has posted on her Twitter handle condemning the act. This silence by Trump has attracted criticism from different parts of the country in India and also in the US.
