The protesters urged the governor not to sign the bill into law. (File)
Washington:
Dozens of Indian Americans held a peaceful protest rally in the state capital of Sacramento, urging California Governor Gavin Newsom to veto the anti-caste discrimination bill recently passed by the State Assembly that according to them, it is discriminatory and directed against Indians in general and Hindus in general. special.
If Governor Newsom were to sign the bill, California would become the first state in the United States and the first jurisdiction outside India to ban discrimination on the basis of caste. The legislation revises California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act to add caste as a protected category under “ancestry.”
“We ask Governor Newsom to Veto SB403 so that history remembers that you said no to discrimination against Indian Americans and said no to racially profiling our community!” Samir Kalra of the Hindu American Foundation told the rally of Indian Americans in front of the State Capitol in Sacramento on Saturday.
Displaying posters and banners, the protesters, most of whom had gathered from different parts of the state, urged the governor not to sign the bill as it would lead to discrimination against the Hindu community. Much worse, they argued, is that the bill amounts to racial profiling of the Hindu community.
The Hindu American Foundation has said it is exploring all options to protect the rights of Hindu Californians and plans to file a lawsuit against it.
The bill was introduced in February by Senator Aisha Wahab, the first Muslim and Afghan-American woman elected to the state legislature. The California Senate overwhelmingly passed SB403 “Discrimination on the Basis of Ancestry” last week by a vote of 31-5.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
