Padma Shree awardee Sudhir Parikh of New Jersey had been appointed the chair of fund raising and advisory Committee of 'Indian-Americans for Trump 2016'.
'Indian-Americans for Trump 2016' -- which was registered as a political action committee (PAC) on January 21 with the federal election commission -- aims at garnering support of Indian-Americans to have Trump become the next President of the US.
Parikh told PTI he withdrew from the group as he wants to be "neutral" and will continue to support any candidate, Democrat or Republican, who "supports the Indian-American community and helps promote US-India relations. That has been my cause for the last 35 years."
"Recently, I have been associated with a group calling itself 'Indian-Americans for Trump 2016'. I have done so because some members of the group are friends of mine, and I allowed myself to be identified with that group. I wish to clarify that I no longer belong to the group and I do not support the candidacy of Donald Trump," Parikh said in the statement.
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He added that for over three decades he has supported both Democrat and Republican candidates based on their individual merits and their commitment to the interests of the Indian-American community and US-India relations.
In a statement in January, the PAC said A D Amar, a business professor with Seton Hall University in New Jersey has been elected as its president; while New York-based attorney Anand Ahuja as its vice president.
Earlier, the committee in a statement has said that "On realising that the agenda of Donald J Trump for President 2016 is focused on reviving the American economy, rightly bringing America on the world stage, defeating terrorism and establishing peace through strength; many Indian-Americans believe that he is the best hope for America and the right candidate to be the next president of the US".