Eric Garcetti has been declared as the new United States (US) ambassador to India, and will take up a position that has been vacant since January 2021. For more than two years, an important designation was unoccupied. And yet the US says India is a strategic partner in the Asian camp.
Garcetti is a former Los Angeles mayor and a Democratic Party operative. A Biden loyalist, Garcetti received 52 votes in his favor, with 42 votes going against him. He was originally nominated by President Biden to be the US ambassador to India on July 9, 2021.
He has been surrounded with several controversies. Here are some of the following key contentious arguments. His affiliations are alarming enough to know why the Indian government should be on guard to the declaration of Eric Garcetti as the US ambassador to India. Also, how his recent remarks on India informs that he harbors/supports anti-Indian point of view.
Bringing facts to the fore: Is a blatant anti-Indian ploy in operation?
Eric Garcetti, in his recent confirmation hearing, claimed that he would raise the “Human Rights issue in India” by engaging with the activists on the ground. Human rights would be a core part of Garcett’s engagement.
“The people and groups which are fighting for Human Rights in India will get direct engagement with me,” said the incoming US ambassador to India. Is he a US envoy or an agent hired by the established syndicate to destabilise Indian law and order?
He explicitly spoke about his ‘concerns’ about the condition of the Indian minorities. The US has falsely and openly claimed that Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is discriminatory against the minority groups such as Muslim population, and the incoming US envoy has expressed to raise the issue. The preconceived notions are sufficing to display where this is leaning to.
Another controversy in which Garcetti ignored complaints of sexual harassment against his political advisor Rick Jacobs. In 2020, a lawsuit was filed against Rick Jacobs, a key aide of Garcetti, by police officer and Garcetti’s bodyguard Matthew Garza. Garza alleged that Jacobs touched him inappropriately and made “crude sexual remarks”. Following this, Jacobs stepped down from his duties.
Garcetti has repeatedly insisted that he did not know anything about the alleged misconduct. However, his opponents have alleged that he either knew about the allegations and did not act on them or was unaware of what was going on in his team.
It has also been reported in the Los Angeles Times that Garcetti has worked closely with Amnesty International in the past. Amnesty International is an organisation which peddles lies and spreads misinformation against India. Since 2020, it is under the radar of the Indian authorities for multiple cases of FCRA violations. Can it be a part of an elaborate plan to revive its operation in India?
Garcetti has close and deep ties with Chinese intel groups. As per an investigation conducted by Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF), Garcetti has met with members belonging to several Chinese Communist Party (CCP) front groups.
It was reported that Eric Garcetti received $2,00,000 (₹1.65 crores) from the Walter and Shirley Wang Charitable Foundation in July 2014 and $1,000,000 (₹8.25 crores) in 2020 to his ‘Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles’ (which was set up in 2014). Walter Wang also donated $1,400 (₹1.15 lakhs) to the 2017 mayoral reelection campaign of Eric Garcetti. Quid pro quo at its best!
Wang’s co-Executive Director at the Chinese intel groups, Dominic Ng, is also a close aide of Eric Garcetti. The organisation where Ng serves as CEO aka ‘East-West Bank’, has donated $20000 to ‘Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles’. The Daily Caller has also unearthed Eric Garcetter’s meetings with Chinese intel group members, both in China and the United States. Is this mere coincidence that the deep state is entwined in all these chains of actions?
Eric Garcetti also met & headlined events with members of multiple front groups serving the “United Front Work Department (UFWD), a CCP agency which “coordinates & conducts influence operations,” as per a report from NCSC. It is important to ponder if he is a representative/ eyes and ears of the well-established nexus of the clandestine network.
Strike on the Indian Foundation: By hook or by crook
Some have perceived this move with wariness and not to be taken for granted. It is viewed with skepticism that the significant position was abandoned for more than two years, then why out of the blue the US took the call to chose its ambassador to India. It is a crucial time for Indian politics. Indian general elections 2024 are around the corner.
The US chose a controversial individual whose tenure as a mayor was also full of incidents and scandals. Currently, his views on India and his connection, association with anti-Indian elements is a wake-up call for India. Especially with organisations which are thriving on hollowing the Indian system and running propaganda.
There is a pattern in his statements regarding India which is dropping clear hints that Indian leadership should monitor his activities meticulously.
