Kāpiti Mayor K Gurunathan has been invited to join Parliamentarians of Indian Origin when they meet in Delhi, India this week.
Three Parliamentarians of Indian origin and a Mayor will be among the New Zealand delegates attending the first ‘Person of Indian Origin Parliamentary Conference’ on January 9 and 10, 2018 at New Delhi.
The Indian High Commission says Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi, Dr Parmjeet Parmar (both National List MPs), Priyanca Radhakrishnan (Labour List MP) and Kāpiti Coast Mayor K Gurunathan will attend the two-day Conference, representing New Zealand.
The Three MPs were born in India while Mr Gurunathan, a former journalist is of Malaysian-Indian origin.
The High Commission says although not a Parliamentarian, Mr Gurunathan is an elected Member of a Local Council and head of a local government which they say is the first for a person of Indian origin in New Zealand.
More than 125 Parliamentarians of Indian origin will attend the Conference.
(Editorial Note: In fact Dunedin Mayor for nine years Suhki Turner was born in India)
