Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, a candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination spoke and mingled with the crowd at the Meet & Greet/Fundraiser hosted by Girija Vijay, Bharat Patel & Neeru Piplani, at the Pure Indian Cuisine on Tuesday, March 19th.  The event drew over 150 members of the local community, mostly non-political, to hear Congresswoman Gabbard.  Immediately after entering the Royal Hall in the midst of pre hors d’oeuvres conversations, the Congresswoman pleasing personality drew many members of the community for handshakes, pictures, and some political conversations.

Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, in her fourth term, forcefully conveyed her message of peace and prosperity for all. Clark County Commissioner Tick Segerblom introduced the Presidential Candidate Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard to the community.  Over $15,000 was raised at the evening event to support Congresswoman Gabbard’s bid to be the next President of the United States of America.

Congresswoman was the first elected representative of the Hindu faith and took an oath of office on Bhagwat Gita which was given by her mother when she was growing up in Hawaii.  Congresswoman Gabbard is now the first Hindu candidate running for the office of the President of the United States. Congresswoman Gabbard, a major in the National Guard, strongly believe in closing the on-going & reckless chapter of wars and America’s devastating policy of regime changes pursued by the Washington establishment.

During her deployment in Iraq, Congresswoman experienced the human cost of war.  “People from both the parties perpetuate the war without considering who is paying the price,” said Congresswoman Gabbard.  She continued, “we got to change our priorities in this country and put people first before profits and politics.”  Currently, Congresswoman Gabbard serves on the Homeland Security and the Foreign Relations Committee.

In addressing the community, Congresswoman emphasized on investing the savings from endless wars in building America. If elected, Congresswoman Gabbard is promising to divert the same resources and invest in the underserved communities across the United States.

Congresswoman accentuated her progressive platform with Medicare for all, meaningful criminal justice reform, investment in education, improving infrastructure, immigration reform and taking care of our veterans. “Self-serving politicians are dividing us to get elected, we need a change and put service before self,” said Congresswoman Gabbard.

Wrapping up, the Congresswoman appealed to the attendees to join her in a movement of peace here and abroad. Appealing for donations to the attendees, Congresswoman informed the prospective donors of the rule change by the Democratic Party.  Congresswoman must have 65,000 unique donors to participate in the 2020 Democratic Presidential debate.

The evening event was the perfect opportunity for Congresswoman Gabbard to meet Southern Nevada’s growing and prosperous Indian community.  After the speech, the Congresswoman took a few questions from the attendees before leaving for the evening.

Currently, there are 17 candidates running in Democratic Party presidential primaries and the field is growing as some of the prominent well-known Democrats, including former Vice President Joe Biden, are waiting on the sidelines.  Some of the unannounced candidates have leadership PACs and/or campaign committees.