No disrespect, no regret: Man who waved tricolour amid Capitol chaos

The man who had waved the Indian flag at Wednesday’s US Capitol siege has said that he intended to prove that America is “not racist as it is portrayed” and that President Donald Trump’s Republican Party is “not white supremacist”, reported NDTV.

The lone tricolour amid thousands of pro-Trump banners had become a bone of contention between Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and BJP’s Varun Gandhi, with the two engaging in a verbal war on Twitter. Vincent Xavier, the man who had waved the flag during the Capitol mayhem, had replied with photos showing other countries’ flags too present there.

Xavier told NDTV that he waved the Indian flag to show that America is not a racist nation and that the Republican party is not white supremacist. He said that if Republicans were white supremacists they wouldn’t have allowed him to carry the tricolour.

Related news | Tharoor, Varun Gandhi spar after Indian flag seen at Capitol siege

Stating he is proud of his ancestry, he said waving the flag was in no way disrespecting the tricolour. He also said there’s nothing to be ashamed of and he does not regret his decision to carry the flag. “We’re celebrating our diversity. I am showing that we are more inclusive, more diverse,” he was quoted as saying.

During the Gandhi-Tharoor Twitter spat, users pointed out to a photo showing the Congress leader with Xavier, which added to the BJP MP’s ammunition. Vincent, 54, later said he had met Tharoor during an interview in Washington in 2015 and twice after that.

“Tharoor is a very good orator.  I am always jealous of his English skills…I don’t know whether I would consider him a great leader…I would want him to take a bigger role and rescue the Congress party in the shape it is in today, instead of getting into such controversies,” the report quoted Vincent, who originally hails from Kerala, as saying.

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Xavier, a Virginia resident who has been a member of the President’s Export Council, said Trump’s rallies always have “lot of patriotic fervour”, and he has been to many of his rallies, including Wednesday’s. Further, he alleged “some miscreants” planted by the opposition and “Black Lives Matter people” had broken into the Capitol that day. He claimed some got excited and had got in and for that, the “beautiful nice patriotic rally” cannot be branded as bad. He also distanced himself from the mob saying they were not “our people”.

A Trump loyalist, Xavier went on to slam bad policies when asked about the President being blocked by Facebook and Twitter after his posts were seen as inciting the Capitol violence.