A report in indiacurrents.com pointed out that the tweet referenced a Eurasian Times article on an Aero India exhibition for military aircraft, which included a comment on India continuing to buy crude oil from Russia despite western sanctions
An anti-Indian tweet earlier this month by Foster City Planning Commissioner Evan Adams has upset the Indian American community. On his private Twitter account, Adams called for monitoring Indians in the United States in a post that read, “Time for the USA to start monitoring Indians in the USA and connections to Indian Defence Contractors with Russia. Shut down the $$$.”
A report in indiacurrents.com pointed out that the tweet referenced a Eurasian Times article on an Aero India exhibition for military aircraft, which included a comment on India continuing to buy crude oil from Russia despite western sanctions.
The post, now deleted, provoked outrage among Indian Americans who form nearly 23% of Foster City residents. They condemned its anti-Indian sentiment and called for Adams’s immediate removal from public office.
Former Foster City Mayor Richa Awasthi sent a letter to the town council on March 3, demanding Adams’s immediate resignation. She called his tweet “disturbing and unacceptable not only to me but also to a massive percent of the residents of Foster City who are of Indian origin”. Given the recent rise in anti-Asian hate incidents, Awasthi warned, “This raises many red flags, concerns, and questions. It has the potential to lead to hate crimes against Indians.”
“There are many examples from the private sector of employees being fired if they make inappropriate social media posts. This is undoubtedly a racist post. And he holds a public office role! He represents Foster City. He should be removed from the office.”
— Richa Awasthi, Former Foster City Mayor
She also called for city councillors to take immediate action by removing Adams from the Planning Commission. Awasthi pointed out that Adams’s comment, especially from someone holding a commission role, had put Foster City in a bad light. “The Council appoints commissioners, and they must take immediate action to send a message of unity and respect for diversity that we value so much in Foster City. Evan Adams should be removed from the Planning Commission immediately.”
Awasthi, a first-generation Indian immigrant (now naturalized US citizen), served as the first (Indian) immigrant woman Mayor of Foster City. A city resident for over two decades, Awasthi stated that she, like other immigrant families, had “built a life here with honesty, integrity, hard work, and grit, and making valuable contributions in both public and private sectors.
According to a report in the San Mateo Daily Journal, Adams wanted the US to scrutinize funding connections in the US to other countries doing business with Russia, following its invasion of Ukraine.
During public comments at a March 6 council meeting, former Mayor Sanjay Gehani denounced the offensive tweet, criticizing remarks made against a selected section of the community by publicly elected officials. Foster City’s Mayor Jon Froomin agreed to follow up on the issue by putting it on the agenda for discussion at a March 20 council meeting.
Though Adams apologized and took the post down, he will not resign from the Planning Commission. In a statement, Richa Awasthi told India Currents, “I don’t think an apology is enough. His tweet is not inarticulate at all. It is quite clear. Is the apology that ‘I was tired, so my real self got revealed’?” She also mentioned: “There are many examples from the private sector of employees being fired if they make inappropriate social media posts. This is undoubtedly a racist post. And he holds a public office role! He represents Foster City. He should be removed from the office.”
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