Senator Chuck Schumer Condemns Attack on Temple

India-West Staff Reporter

NEW YORK, NY – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has condemned the recent desecration of the Mahatma Gandhi statue that occurred at a Hindu temple in his state of New York.

The Democrat released a statement reading, “Our city and the whole country have seen the pernicious, poisonous, and dangerous rise of hate crimes, and the desecration of Shri Tulsi Mandir in Richmond Hill is horrifying. These hateful acts must be called out, confronted, and stopped.”

He added, “Hate crimes are vile, reprehensible, and counter to everything New York City and America stand for: freedom of religion, equality, respect for the dignity of every person. We have to fight the hate and intolerance with our actions and our good deeds, but the increase in threats and hate crimes demand more help at the federal level. I have secured increases in funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program and I worked with Congresswoman Grace Meng to pass the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act to give the DOJ more tools, and locals more help, to stem this tide of intolerance and investigate hate crimes. Additionally, my call for $360 million for the NSGP has been included in the Senate appropriations bill.”

Schumer concluded with, “I stand with the Hindu-American community in unequivocally denouncing all forms of racial and religious discrimination, and I’ll keep fighting for more funds to protect our houses of worship.”