'The die is cast. The wave is for her.'
'We will win this. The numbers are going to be higher than people are saying.'
'It is going to be more closer to Obama's numbers than Biden's numbers.'
Ramesh V Kapur, founder and president of the US India Security Council, Inc, has been a long-time supporter of Joe Biden, particularly after Biden backed the US-India nuclear deal.
Kapur advocates stronger US-India ties, especially in defense, and believes Vice President Kamala Harris should lead efforts to enhance India's status in security alliances.
He emphasizes the need for substance over public relations in evaluating Harris's contributions, praising her behind-the-scenes work in strengthening US-India relations.
He believes Harris's strengths, particularly her focus and prosecutorial experience, make her well-equipped to counter Donald J Trump's rhetoric in future debates.
"She's not going to take any of Trump's theatrics, she's going to stick it to him. She's blunt, believe me, she can be blunt," Ramesh Kapur tells Rediff.com US Contributor Abhijit J Masih in the first of a two-part interview.
You have been a supporter of Joe Biden since his backing of the US-India nuclear deal in 2008. How do you assess his administration's approach to US-India relations so far?
Are there specific areas you believe still need attention?
Biden has been very pro India for a long time. When India exploded Pokhran-1, he was in the Foreign Relations Committee and his vote was the one that saved the sanctions when Jimmy Carter was the President by one vote.
So he's always been pro India over the years. So where is this going?
Next step, we're trying to get India to be classified under the Export Control Act as a NATO plus six country. It's not part of NATO.
Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Israel are the five countries, and they get the latest technology in the defense area, and they don't have to wait for technology.
The GE deal is still not done because the law has to be changed.
The United States is as bureaucratic as India, so I would want Kamala Harris to take a lead in that area.
To answer your question, what we are looking for, what India is looking for is security alliance.
That's why the civil nuclear deal was very important because it gave India security.
That was when things started to move in the right direction in terms of defense.
$20 billion in defense business that we're getting, and there'll be more business there.
So that's the one thing that I want to concentrate next on, where India gets the security.
If that law is passed, China is going to be more careful at the border.
How do you rate Kamala Harris's term as Vice President, as a representative of the Indian American community?
Well, just remember something, do you want PR or do you want substance? That's the choice that you have to make.
In terms of substance, behind the scenes, she has done hell of a lot because I communicate with her.
I raised money for her. I did fundraisers and brought the Indian community together.
She has agreed with whatever Biden's policies are with India.
I approached her about doing a Diwali function in the White House for the 75th anniversary.
She was instrumented in pushing the White House to do a Diwali function.
It was a huge celebration and at that time, I also talked to the President to move that further to the next level.
And that's when the invitations to Modi came in, and he got the red carpet treatment.
And then, of course, she brought in the Samosa Caucus, Indian Americans in the House.
She's still the Vice President, and vice presidents have to make sure that that the Presidents take the lead.
Now she is taking the lead. We can throw anything that, 'Oh, she's not pro India'.
The reality is that sometimes we are too critical of our own -- Ghar Ki Murgi Dal Barabar.
What else do you want from her? She's delivered everything I've asked her to and more in substance.
What do you have to say about the allegation by the Republicans that she identifies more to her African American ancestry than her Indian American ancestry?
Have they read the book that she wrote? Read it. She talks about her mom Shyamala Gopalan, her trips to India, her walks with her grandfather.
These guys have not read her book. They are taking the same stuff that that Trump says.
They are regurgitating whatever Trump is saying. Of course, she identifies to the black community, her father was black.
Why not? She identifies as a woman. And she identifies as an Indian American.
You mentioned whether you want PR or substance, but substance also needs a little bit of PR.
What are her significant strengths that you feel she can leverage against Donald Trump in this general election?
Well, strength is her speech and her focus, because he's all over the place. She's the future, he's the past.
It's more obvious now because Biden has dropped out. Now he's the old guy and she's the young future, which is what the problem he had with Biden, not his policy.
I saw her campaigning with the women, the youth, the black community, the minority community, I saw that.
That's where her strength will be. Biden could not say much about the Dobbs decision, because he's a Catholic and he couldn't preach and be the spokesman for that.
She being a woman, she can speak to that sort of stand. The other standard is the prosecutor and the 34 felonies.
She said, 'I know the Trump type, I put them in jail.' She's a happy warrior, she's a happy person.
How do you think Kamala Harris should approach debates with Donald Trump?
What specific qualities or strategies do you believe will help her stand out and counter Trump's rhetoric?
She's not going to take any of his grief, any of his theatrics, she's going to stick it to him. She's blunt, believe me, she can be blunt.
The prosecutors can be blunt and she'll be going at him. The bottom line is that there's going to be a wrestling match over there.
There's not going to be substance there. And she'll give it back to him.
He will get more excited because he's got problems with women, the way he has treated them.
And she'll get on his nerves, and he will lose it. I'm not prepping her for the debate. I'm just giving the points based on what I know about her.
We talked about her substance and strengths. What do you think would be her biggest challenges for her against the Republican campaign?
The die is cast. The wave is for her. I think we will win this. I think we will take Florida too.
The numbers are going to be higher than people are saying. My sense is it is going to be more closer to Obama's numbers than Biden's numbers this time around.
- Part 2 of the Interview: 'India Is Critical To US National Security'
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
