Kashyap Kash Patel, US President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the FBI, was spotted on Thursday taking blessings by touching the feet of his parents ahead of his confirmation hearing. At the hearing, he introduced his family and wished them “Jai Shri Krishna.”
Patel, an Indian lawyer born to Gujarati parents, is seen kneeling down to touch his parents’ feet prior to the confirmation hearing in a video that has gone viral.
When the 44-year-old appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing as FBI Director, he presented his parents and sister in another widely shared video.
He said he would like to welcome his mother, Anjana, and father, Pramod, who are seated here today. “They came from India to come here. Nisha, my sister, is also present. In addition, she crossed oceans to be with me. The fact that you are here means the world. “Jai Shri Krishna,” exclaimed Patel.
He claimed to have carried the aspirations of millions of Americans who support justice, equity, and the rule of law in addition to his parents’ ideals.
Praising President Trump, he stated that when he was informed of Trump’s intention to nominate him as the director of the FBI, he was deeply honoured.
Patel would become the first Indian-American and Hindu director of the FBI if confirmed.
He said that his father left Uganda during the genocidal reign of Idi Amin, when three lakh men, women, and children were murdered “just because they happened to look like me” because of their ethnicity.
“My mother was born in Tanzania. She and my dad were married in India, where they both studied. Later, they would move to New York, where I was born, and we grew up surrounded by my father’s seven siblings, their wives, and at least six kids,” he recalled.
He stated that’s the only way they knew how to do things at the time, in the ’70s and ’80s, the Indian way, but they would soon learn the American way.
Patel testified before Congress that he experienced racism as a child. “Yes, regrettably, Senator. When Senator Lindsey Graham asked him if he had ever experienced racism personally, he replied, “I don’t want to get into those details with my family here.”
