NRI,
New York attorney Madhu Yaskhi elected
member of parliament in the Lok Sabha
New Delhi, May 30, 2004
Suresh Gupta
"I am the only non-resident member of parliament
in the Lok Sabha," said Madhu Yaskhi. I intend
to use it to become an interface with the 20 million
Indian diaspora across the globe," says the soft-spoken
Yaskhi. As expected Madhu Yaskhi truimphed with a
huge majority of 1,37,931 votes He won the hearts
of Nizamabad people right from the day of campaigning
in a short span of time. He created history of getting
huge majority in all rounds of counting
NRI, New York attorney Madhu Goud Yaskhi, a rash
of suicides by farmers in his native Andhra Pradesh
set off a chain reaction culminating in his election
to the Indian parliament. I also want to use my experience
abroad to raise funds for the needy and ensure that
the funds are properly utilised.
Yaskhi says his journey to politics started a year
and a half ago when he was reading a newspaper while
going to the law firm he founded nine years ago in
Manhattan - International Legal and Trade Consultants.
The paper spoke about the plight of farmers in Machareddy
town in Andhra Pradesh and he immediately wanted to
become a source of refuge to their families, among
whom many had lost their breadwinners due to suicides.
"I started by giving Rs.10,000 ($220) each to
the 43 farmer families who had committed suicides.
They had lost confidence in themselves and in the
government."
Yaskhi's wife Shuchee, an endocrinologist who also
had a successful career in New York, returned to India
and started a practice to tend to children and the
poor.
