World News | US lawmaker condemns desecration of BAPS temple in New York, demands action against vandals

Washington, DC (US), Sep 19 (ANI): US Congressman from New York Tom Suozzi has condemned the desecration of the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in Melville, New York with messages of hate and stressed that the perpetrators and vandals who committed hate crimes must be held accountable.

US Congressman Tom Suozzi, representing New York’s 3rd Congressional District, raised the issue of desecration of the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in Melville in the US House of Representatives. He spoke about the increasing incidents of vandalism, bigotry and hate. He said Hindus greet people with folded hands and say namaste to show respect to them.

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In his speech to the US House of Representatives, Suozzi said, “I think we all know that hate has always been a part of human existence, but today we are seeing too many hate crimes. Late Sunday night, vandals vandalized the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir on Long Island with blatant hate and bigotry against the Hindu community. I have seen Hindus many times, and many of you may have too, when they fold their hands, bow and say namaste.”

“When they do that, they recognize the divinity in the person in front of them. They show their respect to the person in front of them. We really need to recognize that all of our fellow human beings are specially created in the image of God and we need to treat each other with more respect. What is happening that we see these acts of vandalism, bigotry and hate happen so often? Is it because of the inflammatory rhetoric that we hear all the time? Is it because of extremism? Is it because of a lack of accountability? What do we need to do to solve this problem? Because hate is not the answer, love is the answer,” he added.

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His remarks came after the Consulate General of India in New York condemned the vandalism at the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in Melville on Monday and termed it “unacceptable”. The Consulate General of India in New York has taken up the matter with US law enforcement authorities and urged them to take prompt action against those guilty of the act.

Tom Suozzi called for accountability for those who commit hate crimes. He spoke about his involvement in a gathering with the BAPS community, state officials and local officials on Monday.

Calling for action against vandals and criminals, Suozzi said, “In the short term, we need to hold vandals and criminals and people who commit hate crimes accountable. We need law enforcement to catch these criminals, and we need prosecutors to prosecute them so they can be held accountable because people can’t just say whatever they want, regardless of what effect it has on other human beings. And in the long term, we need to do a better job of educating people about the importance of love and respect for other people.”

“On Monday I stood in solidarity with the BAPS community along with state and local officials, people of different faiths, Democrats and Republicans at the federal, state and local levels. We spoke up for the values ​​that people in the BAPS community stand for, that Long Islanders stand for, that New Yorkers stand for, and that Americans stand for. Let’s remember the importance of mutual respect and love and the role they play in our country and our world. Love will always win,” he said.

He spoke about the rise in incidents of vandalism, bigotry, and hate on Long Island, New York, and across America.

Sharing the video of her speech in the House on X, Suzy wrote, “Last weekend, the @BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Melville was desecrated with hateful graffiti. This morning, I spoke in the House about the rise in incidents of vandalism, bigotry, and hate on Long Island, New York, and across our country. Hate is not the answer. Love is the answer. Namaste.”

The Consulate General of India in New York has raised the matter with the US law enforcement authorities and urged them to take prompt action against the culprits of this act.

“The vandalism committed at the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in Melville, New York is unacceptable. The Consulate General of India in New York is in touch with the community and has taken up the matter with US law enforcement authorities for prompt action against the perpetrators of this heinous act,” the Consulate General of India in New York said in a post on X on Monday. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from syndicated news feed, Latestly staff may not have made any changes or edits to the content)