Democrat lawmaker Jenifer Rajkumar on Monday said that she will organise a press conference in Shri Tulsi Mandir in Richmond area of the New York State to denounce a suspected hate crime.
Rajkumar and other officials alleged that in case of a suspected hate crime, a Gandhi statue in front of the Shri Tulsi Mandir in South Richmond Hill was desecrated.
I am holding a press conference tomorrow morning on the suspected anti-Hindu hate crime at a temple in Richmond Hill. 👇 pic.twitter.com/dWAw9x20R3— Jenifer Rajkumar (@JeniferRajkumar) August 8, 2022
“The desecration of Gandhi statues and anti-Hindu hate crimes will not be tolerated in Richmond Hill or anywhere in New York State,” she said in a statement.
“At a time when our city is experiencing a 127% increase in hate crimes, elected officials and community leaders will gather together tomorrow in my district at Tulsi Mandir to condemn hate crimes against any group based on their religion or ethnicity,” she further added.
She said the desecration of the statue is an example of a hate crime in an area where Jews, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians live together with Hindus in harmony and ‘often in the same block’.
The New York state assemblywoman was the state’s first lawmaker to set up the first ever Asian American and Pacific Islander Commission in New York State, to address the problem of rising hate crimes against the Asian community.
She also protested against the desecration of the Gandhi statue in Union Square in February, defended the Sikh men who were subjected to hate crimes earlier this year, hate crime against a white woman and a spree of hate crimes against the Muslim population in the area.
Rajkumar also set up a task force to investigate and report on domestic violence within the South Asian-American community. She set up the task force after Mandeep Kaur, a 30-year-old Sikh woman, allegedly committed suicide in her home earlier in July.
“Until women are free from gender-based violence, our society cannot realise its full potential. That is why I have dedicated my career to advancing the rights of women,” Jenifer said last week.
On Tuesday morning (local time) notable Democrat members like Gregory Meeks - who was part of the US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s delegation to Taiwan - and the Office of Mayor Eric Adams, state senator Joseph Addabbo, Jr. and members from the Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA,) and the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) will also be present.
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