PHILADELPHIA:
Indian-American Neera Tanden
will make her political debut on national stage when she stands behind the lectern to address thousands of delegates of the
Democratic party
and its top leadership in Philadelphia.
Currently president of Centre for American Progress, a progressive public policy research and advocacy organization based in Washington DC, Tanden is a close confidante of
Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, and highly speculated as a potential cabinet appointee in her administration.
So far, Tanden, 45, is the only Indian-American to have been invited by the Democratic leadership and the Clinton Campaign to address the ongoing Democratic National Convention.
"I expect to have a full unified party over the next couple of days," Tanden told a group of Indian reporters on the eve of her address to the Democratic National Convention.
She was a key member of the
Democratic Platform Committee
and the only Indian-American on this.
Tanden, who has played important role in shaping some of the key policy issues of the Party, the
Obama Administration
and the Clinton Campaign alleged that the rhetoric of
Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, has been "very hateful".
"He has been very antagonistic towards all immigrants. He does not have a very clear picture of who an American is. And I do not think that is really welcoming among the South Asian community. You will see Hillary's speech on Thursday be really welcoming and that includes Indian-Americans, South Asians and the great diversity of the country," Tanden said in response to a question.