Thaindian News

Washington, July 17 (IANS) Louisiana’s Indian-American governor Bobby Jindal helped Mitt Romney raise two million dollars amid speculation that he could be presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s running mate in the November poll.

Appearing at a lunchtime fundraiser in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with Romney, Jindal called President Obama “incompetent,” and described Obama’s politics as too liberal for the American people, NBC reported.

“This president, President Obama, he cannot run on his record, he can’t run on his political philosophy so he has to attack and distort Governor Romney’s record,” Jindal said, referring to what he described as the Obama campaign’s negative tactics.

Last week, the Romney campaign fielded attacks from the Obama team over questions about when Romney left the helm of the venture capital firm Bain Capital, accused of outsourcing jobs to China and India.

“I am thrilled he’s a successful businessman. You don’t want an unsuccessful businessman in the White House,” Jindal said.

About 40 donors attended Monday’s luncheon, at $50,000 a plate.

Jindal, who supported Texas Governor Rick Perry during the Republican primary, has recently become a more visible surrogate for Romney’s campaign, deploying sharp attacks on Obama and defending conservative issues, NBC said.

This weekend, Jindal addressed the Nebraska Republican convention, where he touted Romney’s business background and was met with applause when he said the US Supreme Court made an “awful choice” upholding Obama’s health care law.

(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)