Sikhs hail US senator for championing minority rights

AMRITSAR: A Democrat senator in the election race for the US vice-president's post, Tim Kaine, has been hailed by the American Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (AGPC) and Friends of American Sikh Congressional Caucus as a champion of minority rights for coming out in suuport of the entry of turbaned Sikhs in the US Army.
AGPC president J S Hothi, in a release issued on Tuesday, said Sikhs were indebted to senator Kaine for his role in the protection of community's rights."Senator Kaine met US Sikh leaders in California recently. We would like to call him the champion of minority rights," he said.
AGPC coordinator Pritpal Singh said Sikhs had assured the senator of all their support and assistance in the upcoming US presidential polls. "Democrats had been at the forefront to raise the issues faced by the Sikh community," said Pritpal. He addedthat during the recent hearings of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Tim Kaine applauded the US Army for making a long-term religious accommodation for Captain Simratpal Singh, a turbaned Sikh-American in the US Army who was allowed to serve without having to abandon his articles of faith.