The Indian National Overseas Congress (INOC) honored Union Minister of Commerce and Industry during a special reception hosted on Friday, June 19, 2009 at West Side Ball Room, of the prestigious Marriott Marquis Hotel, in New York, with nearly 500 members of INOC and several prominent NRIs gathering in the celebration.

The INOC is the only official organization that has been recognized by the Indian National Congress to advance and foment the Congress ideology among the Indian Diaspora in the United States. Its main operations have concentrated on spreading the Congress Ideology and being “Good will ambassadors” to the Non-resident Indian community in the United States. Also, the INOC played a vital role in spearheading a grass roots campaign to approach US lawmakers and demonstrate the support that the Indian Diaspora in the United States had for the historical Indo-American Nuclear Agreement.

INOC, continuing its Victory Celebration of Congress Party in the recent Indian Parliament elections and winning absolute majorities in several states, arranged a special reception for Minister Anand Sharma, who is the first representative of Government of India, visiting on an official tour, to reinitiate talks and open up the trade and high level business relationships between India and the United States.

Minister Anand Sharma, in spite of his busy schedule with various prominent groups, after series of meetings with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and US Trade Representative Ron Kirk and several others in Washington DC, agreed to spend time with loyal followers of Indian Congress Party.

After initial “meet and greet” session, the official meeting of INOC has begun. Member of executive committee Dr. Najma Sultana, and Presidents of various national chapters, Ms. Lavika Singh - Washington D.C., Haryana Wing- President Mr. Sawaran Singh, Punjab Wing – President Mr. Phuman Singh, Haryana Wing Chairman: Ragbeer Singh Bubby, Long Island Chapter President Mr. Peter Beda, Gujarat Wing President Dr. Harshad Bhatt and Malwa brothers Wing President, Mr. Karamjit Singh have been invited to share the dais.

Mr. Mohinder Singh Gilzian, Vice President, Mr. George Abraham, General Secretary, Mr. Shudh Jasuja, National Vice President, and Mr. Mahesh Saladi, General Secretary and the President of Andhra Pradesh Chapter, have joined honorable Indian Ambassador to UN, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, and the honorable Deputy Consul General Dr. Gonde.

INOC President Dr. Surinder S. Malhotra has accompanied the Chief Guest Minister Anand Sharma to the dais, while the entire audience giving a standing ovation to Minister Sharma with resounding applause.

Mr. Mahesh Saladi, a newly appointed General Secretary of INOC and the President of its Andhra Pradesh Chapter, acted as the Master of Ceremonies.

After rendering the Indian National Anthem, INOC has observed a minute of silence and offered prayer expressing deep condolences for the loss of life of Smt. Yasho Rajya Lakshmi, wife of His Highness Dr. Karan Singh, former Union Minister and In-charge of Indian Overseas Congress Singh.

Following the above, Mr. Saladi, during his inaugural remarks, enlightened the audience with the steady achievements and current status of INOC, representing the ideology of the Indian National Congress party, desiring the promotion of the ideals of democracy, secularism and fraternity so that justice, liberty and equality may be secured for all Indians worldwide.

INOC, as the admirers and believers of Congress ideology, constantly endeavor to assume a role similar to goodwill ambassadors, promoting India’s image as a secular democratic country here in U.S and abroad. Mr. Saladi quoted President of Indian National Congress, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, mentioning during the special reception arranged in her honor in 2007 in New York “INOC acts as an overseas extension of Congress party and its leadership sharing the ethos and credos of the Party”.

INOC President, Dr. Surinder S. Malhotra, during his speech said that "There's a bigger thing to celebrate than the victory of the Congress Party and that is the victory of democracy- Democracy in India is thriving and vibrant". He recollected the INOC initiative and experiences of aiding to pass the Indo-US nuclear deal. Further, he thanked the honorable minister for his staunch support of the INOC during his previous visits.

Dr. Malhotra’s inspirational speech included his highest appreciation towards Congress Party President Smt. Sonia Gandhi, and honorable Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh. He was especially grateful that during their recent visits to the United States, they both granted the Indian Diaspora an audience in the form of a reception arranged by the INOC. During both of these events, several thousand of the Indian community, prominent NRIs and INOC members were in attendance. Also in his speech, Dr. Malhotra stated, "A bigger part of the recent victory is that there was a strong will to bring the party's ideology to the people of India- to the “aam admi.” Also, he congratulated the Indian people for recognizing that it was only the Congress party that represented a universal vision that included ALL the people of India “… regardless of their caste, creed, religion or gender…” To conclude, Dr. Malhotra stated that this election demonstrated the intelligence of Indian voters, because they voted for “… security and social harmony."

Dr. Malhotra then introduced, with pride and pleasure, the Chief Guest, Minister Anand Sharma. He again complemented the minister, and outlined the milestones of his achievements since the beginning of his political career in college as a youth leader. Dr. Malhotra described Mr. Sharma’s step by step growth into main stream politics, from becoming a member of parliament at a very young age, to earning the respect and recognition by the party, the people of Himachal Pradesh then nationwide and leaders around the world. Dr. Malhotra further remembered his affiliation with Minister Sharma, and specially thanked Minister Sharma’s guidance and advices during the visit of the Party President, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi to New York.

Following the directions of Dr. Malhotra, through out the session, a special presentation was arranged on a continuous basis, showing historical meetings held by Minister Sharma with heads of several nations and his enormous effort in enhancing India’s relationship with every nation through out the world.

Dr. Mrs. Gulshan Malhotra and other women representatives of INOC then honored Minister Sharma with a shawl and a ceremonial pen. While the memento was presented, Dr. Malhotra expressed his hope on behalf of INOC, that the honorable minister would remember INOC each time he uses the pen.

Minister Shri Anand Sharma delivered a highly emotional speech, covering various topics. He began by praising the Indian National Congress, starting from the experiences of Shri Mahatma Gandhi and the birth of Congress party during the India’s freedom fight, he traced the growth and accomplishments of Indian National Congress during the six decades of Indian independence. Shri Anand Sharma continued by describing India as an emerging super power in the world; he emphasized how in the near future, 40% of the world’s GDP would belong to India, China and the United States. Mr. Sharma emphasized the progress and recent historical achievements of India in science and technology. Minister Sharma particularly highlighted India’s recent simultaneous launch of 10 satellites into orbit using a domestically produced launching pad. Shri Anand Sharma added that trade relationship between India and the U.S. were healthy, and India would be willing to further open up its markets to U.S. business. He further mentioned a study released by the India Brand Equity Foundation that found that corporate India has created employment for 300,000 people in the United States between 2004 and 2007. This study was done to investigate the evidence of the claim that Indian outsourcing is depriving Americans of jobs. Minister Shri Anand Sharma also mentioned that the Indian industry contributed approximately $105 billion to the US economy during 2004-07. In the Minister’s words, “….This revealed a story of commitment to optimize and to invest in the future of the relationship..." Turning to the issue of India's domestic economy, Minister Shri Anand Sharma revealed a positive outlook. He highlighted the strong domestic demand as one reason that the economy would continue to grow and will be "…moving again closer toward a 7% growth [in GDP]."

Minister Anand Sharma appreciated the warm reception given by the INOC, and expressed that he would be carrying good memories and messages of the visit. He again expressed and assured confidence that India would become a super power characterized by its maintenance of friendship and cooperation with every nation of the world.

The meeting concluded with the honorable minister expressing his appreciation to everyone in the audience and promised that it would remain as a delightful memory of this inaugural visit to the United States as the Minister of Commerce and Industry from India.