US diplomat denounces racism against Indian Americans after Harris jibe

A senior US diplomat on Monday denounced "vile and racist attacks" on Indian Americans, after derogatory remarks were made recently about Vice President Kamala Harris's origins.

In a rare remark touching on domestic US politics, Richard Verma, the deputy secretary of state in charge of management issues, did not directly mention the attacks on the Democratic presidential candidate, but his allusion was clear.

"Nothing could be more threatening or damaging to US-Indian ties than the recent demonization of immigrants we've seen careening through cyberspace and on our TV screens in recent days, which includes vile and racist attacks directed at Indian Americans," Verma, himself an Indian American, said at the Hudson Institute think tank.

"Let me be as clear as I possibly can -- this kind of language, these kinds of attacks, have no place in American society, and we have to reject them outright," he said.

Verma, a former US ambassador to India, was delivering an address on relations between the world' two largest democracies, which he said both historically have advocated "social justice for our most vulnerable populations."

Far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, who has been traveling with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, recently wrote on social media that Harris would make the White House "smell like curry" if she won November's election.

Loomer's closeness with Trump has drawn fire even from some hard-right Republicans. Trump has insisted that he does not control her comments and was unaware that she has spread September 11 conspiracy theories.

Harris, whose mother was born in India and father in Jamaica, would be the first US president of South Asian heritage and the first woman president if elected on November 5.