Rahul Gandhi Presents Lifetime Achievement Award to Vice Chairman of Indian Overseas Congress George Abraham
- A retired Chief technology officer at the United Nations, Abraham is one of the founders of the IOC.
Indian Overseas Congress Vice Chairman George Abraham received the Lifetime Achievement Award from visiting Congress Party leader Rahul Gandhi in New York on June 3. Abraham is one of the founders of the Congress organization in America a quarter of a century ago.
“To everyone’s surprise, IOC Global Chair Sam Pitroda announced the honor and invited Rahul Gandhi to present the plaque that lauded his vision and commitment to the organization,” an IOC press release said.
“It was a proud moment for Abraham, who started his association with the Congress Party during his school days. He worked in All Kerala Balajana Sakhyam, a youth organization, and became the state treasurer. Later he worked in the Kerala Students Union (KSU) before moving to the U.S.,” the release said.
Abraham, a retired Chief technology officer at the United Nations, has been in the U.S. for more than five decades but has retained ¬his Indian citizenship.
Providing the background of the formation of the IOC, the press release said it was in the late 1990s that Abraham, along with a few others from Kerala, came up with the idea of setting up an organization to support the party.
“During a visit of former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in 1988, the former Kerala chief minister, an organization called ‘Indian Overseas Congress’ was launched. Later, it grew to become a national organization known as INOC. Sonia Gandhi, former AICC President, inaugurated the organization upon her visit to the U.S. on June 25, 2001,” the press release said.
Rahul Gandhi was on a three-city tour of the U.S. which concluded at a public reception and address in New York on June 4.