Vice President Kamala Harris, who is contesting as the Democratic candidate in the US presidential election, has posted an emotional post remembering her grandparents on the occasion of Grandparents Day. In this, she has also remembered her days spent in India while remembering her maternal grandparents PV Gopalan and Rajam Gopalan. In her post on X, Harris shared an old family photo. Kamala Harris also claimed that her maternal grandfather had participated in India’s freedom struggle. Harris is preparing to face Donald Trump in the ABC debate on September 10.
“When I was a little girl visiting my grandparents in India, my grandfather took me on morning walks. He discussed with me the importance of fighting inequality and corruption. He was a retired civil servant who was part of India’s freedom movement,” Harris wrote on Sunday.
He taught me to serve people- Harris
It is worth noting that Kamala Harris was referring to civil servant PV Gopalan who worked for both the Indian government after the country’s independence and the British administration during the colonial period. According to some reports, Gopalan helped bring refugees from East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, to India. Apart from this, he worked as an advisor to former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda. His wife Rajam Gopalan was recognized for her social work in Zambia. Kamala Harris said, “My grandmother used to travel all over India. She used to talk to women on issues like family planning. Her commitment to serving the people and their better future is still alive in me.”
People on social media called Harris a liar
Meanwhile, social media users called Harris’ claim about her grandfather completely false. People said that he was a member of the British Imperial Secretariat Service, which changed its name to Central Secretariat Service after India’s Independence. One user questioned, “How can a serving bureaucrat be part of a freedom movement opposing the same government and violating rules?” Another user said, “Everything you are saying is a lie.” Another user wrote, “You are not even an American. Stop lying about your grandmother in India. You are a liar.”
Kamala Harris has made this claim earlier too
It is noteworthy that Kamala Harris has often called PV Gopalan one of India’s freedom fighters. However, as per records, Gopalan was a civil servant. Gopalan’s son, Harris’ uncle G Balachandran, has claimed that his father could have been dismissed if he had publicly supported the end of British rule. Gopalan was born in 1911 in Panganadu, close to the Presidency of Madras.