NRI entrepreneur,
Sant Chatwal target to raise five million US$ for Hillary Clinton's
presidential campaign
New York, April 13, 2007,
Shingara Singh
NRI Sant Singh Chatwal, hotelier
and founder 'Indian American for Hillary 2008 (IAFH), announced
to raise at least USD five million for Hillary Clinton's presidential
campaign. He said more than 1000 guests, including steel baron Lakshmi
Mittal and leading NRI businessman SP Hinduja, were expected to
attend the fund-raiser dinner on June 24.
NRI entrepreneur Sant Singh Chatwal is now planning to pump in
Rs 1,000 crore in India to set up a chain of boutique hotels under
his Dream Hotel brand. Dream Hotel is part of his $750-million Hamshire
Hotels & Resorts chain, which has a presence in the US, Canada
and UK.
Sant Chatwal is one of the most influential Indians in Manhattan,
New York and known to be close to the Clintons, said,
"If there was ever a time for the NRI (Indian-American community)
to mobilise, the time is now. She is the only candidate who has
continuously supported India, contributed to improvement of Indo-US
relations and championed the causes of the Indian-American community."
Former President Bill Clinton and Hillary have a special place
for India in their hearts, he said. He also referred to the contribution
the former US President had made to the relief efforts after the
devastating earthquake in Gujarat.
In September 5, 2005, The former US President Bill Clinton along
with NRI Sant Chhatwal hoteliers were in India to inaugurate the
State Rural Health Mission. He discussed the health situation in
India, especially the spread of HIV/AIDS. Clinton appreciated the
Indian government's efforts in creating awareness and providing
AIDS patients with anti-retroviral treatment
He told CNBC, "Most probably, in the
middle of August or third week of August, we want a Bollywood show,
likely to be attended by Bollywood stars Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek
and Aishwarya Rai where we’ll have 22,000 Indians in the Nassau
Coliseum. So, we can show that Bollywood stars also love Indian-Americans
and want to join this programme, so they can really participate,
enjoy and still help Hillary Clinton."
He told community leaders who attended the function that Hillary's
support to the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal and her frequent visits
to India as examples of her "unwavering loyalty and dedication"
to Indians nationwide and globally.
A New York Democrat, US Congressman Joseph Crowley, is a co-sponsor
of a Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill introduced in the House
of Representatives last month. The legislation also seeks to increase
the quota for H1B visas from 65,000, which ran out just a day after
they opened this year. So, is it time to increase the quota or abolish
the ceiling altogether as demanded by many IT sector giants?
Joseph Crowley says, "In the Comprehensive Immigration Reform
Bill introduced in the House two-and-a-half weeks ago, the issue
of increasing the quota of H1Bs are addressed in that bill."
He also says, "This has got a lot of support in the IT industry,
it’s not just about taking jobs from Americans, it’s
about filling jobs, Americans can’t fill right now."

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