Fremont, Ca. —– Congressman Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, was welcomed by a large contingent of supporters at a luncheon at the home of Usha and Jeevan Zutshi in Fremont hills June 11.

He spoke for more than three hours on issues including the plight of Kashmiri Pandits and the proposed civilian nuclear agreement between India and the U.S., at a fundraiser organized by the Whittier, Calif. based Indian American Friendship Council.

Council Founder Dr. Krishna Reddy said Brown is a lawmaker whose positions on social issues agree with the majority. “He cares about India and is a very balanced politician,” Reddy added.

Dr. Subroto Kundu, Kul Gupta and Ro Khanna emphasized the advantages of nuclear co-operation between the world’s two largest democracies. Brown said he was positively influenced by their input and the audience’s support – to the extent that any misgivings he seemed to have had about the pact appeared to have been removed.

Gaurang Desai and Gautam Desai lamented that almost 350,000 Pandits who have been forced to flee Kashmir since 1990 are still languishing in tents in the environs of Jammu.