Ro Khanna’s mother accompanies him to State of the Union address

Indian American Representative of the US House, Ro Khanna, shared on social media platform Twitter that his mother was joining him at the State of the Union address, which is being delivered by President Joe Biden on Tuesday. “Excited for my mother, Jyotsna Khanna, to join me at the State of the Union. She’s a retired teacher who immigrated to the US from India. Her father, Amarnath Vidyalankar, spent his life fighting for India’s independence, including 4 years in prison in Mahatma Gandhi’s movement,” Khanna said in a tweet.

The State of the Union Address, which is an annual address by the US President to a joint session of the US Congress, includes reports on the nation’s budget, economy, news, agenda, progress, achievements, and the president’s priorities. It is a prestigious event where representatives of the House can bring a plus one with them to the United States Capitol in Washington DC.

Khanna, 46, who was elected as co-chairman of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans in the 118th Congress on Monday along with his Republican House colleague Mike Waltz; said on Twitter that he was proud to have his mother join him to celebrate the progress for representation and the historic moment for Indian Americans.
The Democratic Party representative in the US House of Representatives from California’s 17th District, Khanna won the re-election last November and is one of the five Indian Americans in the US House who are often referred to as the Samosa caucus. He first joined the House of representative in January 2017 after winning the election and has won all re-elections since.