Mother instilled in me core values of America: Harris

Indian-origin Senator and Democratic vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris has said her mother instilled in her that the core values of America is not just to strive for success and but also to leave the country better than they found it. And this is what she strives to be, Harris said during the launch of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) for Biden, a group supporting the Democratic nominee for the November presidential election.

Harris, 55, is of both African and Indian descent, with her father being from Jamaica and mother Shyamala Gopalan from Tamil Nadu. In public addresses, Harris has regularly reflects on the deep influence that her mother had on her. "When my mother arrived in the United States from India, she understood that the core of her new home in America is that we not only strive for success, but to leave our country better than we found it,” she told the AAPI event.

"That’s the approach she instilled in me, and I know many of you are working toward that same end,” she said. In a short video release later in the day on the occasion of Women's Equality Day, Harris said that her mother was “the greatest source of inspiration in my life.” "She taught me from a young age that I had a responsibility to fight for justice. At the age of 19, she arrived in the United States from India alone and with the dream of curing cancer. She was a woman who believed in solving problems,” Harris said.

“In fact, she always used to say, 'if you see a problem, don't just sit around complaining about it, do something about it'," she said. “On the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, it's more important than ever that we keep up the fight at the ballot box to honor the women who came before us,” she asserted. The 19th amendment to the US Constitution granted women the right to vote.

In another tweet along with a video, Harris said that as a young girl, her grandfather would often take her on his morning walks in India, where he'd discuss the importance of fighting for democracy and civil rights. “That commitment and that fight for a better future live on in me to this day,” she said. “My grandparents were phenomenal. We would go back to India like, every other year. My grandfather fought for and was a defender of the freedom of India. When I was a young girl, being the eldest grandchild, my grandfather would take me on his morning walk,” Harris said in the accompanying video.

“All of his buddies who also were great leaders, they would talk about the importance of fighting for democracy and the importance of fighting for civil rights and that people would be treated equally regardless of where they were born or the circumstances of their birth,” she said.

US will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapon

The United States will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapon, Democratic vice-presidential nominee Kamala Harris said on Wednesday, asserting that if voted to power, a Biden Administration will work with allies to strengthen the Obama-era nuclear deal with Tehran and push back its other destabilizing actions. Training her gun at the Trump Administration on the matter, the Indian-origin Senator said, "That nuclear deal, as we all know, blocked Iran's pathways to a nuclear weapon and it was working, as was verified by international inspectors and the US intelligence community. But Donald Trump withdrew from it...promising a better deal and a cowed Iran, but instead Iran is revving up its nuclear activity and becoming more provocative." "Let me be clear, we will not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon. Period. We will continue to ensure that Israel has the unbreakable support of the United States," said Harris, the first person of Black and Indian descent to have been nominated by a major party as its vice-presidential candidate.

The Democratic Party's presidential candidate and former vice president Joe Biden, she said, actually took historic steps as vice president to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. She was responding to questions during a fundraiser. "The Obama-Biden administration imposed what were described as crippling multilateral sanctions which brought Iran to negotiations, which paved the way for the JCPOA and prevented a nuclear armed Iran,” she said. JCPOA or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, commonly known as Iran nuclear deal, was signed during the Obama era. His successor and incumbent President Donald Trump withdrew from JCPOA.

Harris, the first-term Senator from California who serves on the House Intelligence committee, said that she believes that the US is more isolated than ever from its allies. “The Trump administration took the issue of arms embargo against Iran to the (UN) Security Council recently and only one other country voted with us. I think it's fair to say this America First approach has been America alone which is not in our best interest or in the interest of our allies,” she said.

“Our administration will hold Iran's government accountable and rejoin a diplomatic agreement if Iran comes back into compliance. And we will work with our allies, of course, to strengthen the Iran deal and push back Iran's other destabilising actions," Harris said. Responding to a question on continuation of unconditional security assistance to Israel, she said that Biden has made it clear his administration will not tie security assistance to any political decisions that Israel makes.

"As vice president, Joe Biden helped ensure unwavering support for Israel's security. During the Obama-Biden administration he was a key advocate in securing support for life-saving technologies which I have seen...," she said. Biden has also helped shape the unprecedented USD 38 billion a year memorandum of understanding for defense assistance to Israel that was signed in 2016, which was the largest military aid package in American history, Harris said.

"I pledge to you the Biden-Harris administration will sustain our unbreakable commitment to Israel's security including the unprecedented military and intelligence cooperation pioneered during the Obama-Biden administration and the guarantee that Israel will always maintain its qualitative military edge," Harris said.