Indian-American politician Kshama Sawant has again come in focus. Pune-born Sawant has been active in US politics, particularly politics in the city of Seattle for many years now. On Friday morning, Sawant took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) saying that she was being denied Indian visa to visit her ailing mother in Bengaluru. In her post, Sawant claims that she was told that she was on Modi government’s ‘reject list’.
Who Is Kshama Sawant?
Kshama Sawant was born in Pune on October 17, 1973. Most of Sawant’s childhood was spent in Mumbai. She attended Mumbai University and graduated with a degree in Computer Science in the year 1994.
After her graduation, Sawant moved to the US. She earned PhD in Economics from North Carolina State University in the year 2003.
Post 2003, she worked as a professor of economics before her foray in politics. She joined a left-leaning political party in the US called Socialist Alternative. She suffered an initial setback when her bid to get elected to Washington state House of Representatives failed. But just next year, she was elected to Seattle City Council next year.
She served on the Seattle City Council from 2014 to 2024.
Sawant has been a driving force behind several legislations in Seattle, including the one that raised the minimum wage to USD 15 in Seattle.
She also hit headlines after she was able to successfully clear a bill against caste-based discrimination in Seattle.
Sawant has been a critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government. She has in past vigorously criticised Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC)
In 2023, she was even able to pass resolution against CAA and NRC in Seattle City Council. At that time, she had alleged that the Indian legislations were “discriminating against women, Muslims, members of suppressed castes, indigenous and LGBT individuals”.
She has often been criticised by supporters of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in India as well as in the US.
Following rejection of visa, Workers Strike Back, an activist group Sawant is affiliated with posted a video on X saying that Sawant was engaging in ‘peaceful sit-in at Consulate of India in Seattle.
On the same day, the Indian consulate said that there was a ‘law and order’ situation at the consulate.
“Today, the Consulate was forced to deal with a law and order situation arising from the unauthorized entry by certain individuals into the Consulate premises after office hours. Despite repeated requests, these individuals refused to leave the Consulate premises and engaged in aggressive and threatening behaviour with the Consulate staff. We were compelled to call in relevant local authorities to deal with the situation. Further action is being initiated against the trespassers,” the consulate said in its post.
