<p class="title">Sunayana Dumala, the widow of an Indian engineer who was shot dead in a hate crime shooting in the US last year, on Wednesday attended President Donald Trump's first State of the Union Address.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sunayana, 32, was invited as a guest by Congressman Kevin Yoder to attend the event.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Her husband Srinivas Kuchibhotla was shot dead while his colleague, also an Indian, sustained bullet injuries after an American navy veteran opened fire in a crowded suburban bar in Olathe city in February last year.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The shooter, thought they were Middle Easterners and was heard telling them to "get out of my country" at the time of the shooting.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Earlier in the day, Sunayana, met a number of Congressional leaders, including House Speaker Paul Ryan.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The speaker said he knows Sunayana's story and remembers her.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Yoder said that he had asked Sunayana to be his guest as a recognition for her tireless efforts to promote peace, and as a message to the Indian community that the US is a nation of immigrants and they are welcome here.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Each year, I have the privilege of inviting one guest to attend the president's State of the Union address. This year, I invited Sunayana Dumala, widow of Srinivas Kuchibhotla, the Indian immigrant who was tragically killed in the hate crime shooting last year at in Olathe," Yoder had said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Indian-American community welcomed the move.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Brijpal Singh, the chairman of the India Association of Kansas City, said this step will not only assure the Indian community but also send a strong message about the unstinted support from the elected representatives and administration towards the Indian community.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"This further strengthens our belief and confidence in the American system and its Constitution where everyone is respected, loved and is welcome," Singh said in a letter to Yoder.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The State of the Union Address is a traditional annual speech of the US president to a joint session of the Congress where he gives an account of the situation in the country.</p>
<p class="title">Sunayana Dumala, the widow of an Indian engineer who was shot dead in a hate crime shooting in the US last year, on Wednesday attended President Donald Trump's first State of the Union Address.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sunayana, 32, was invited as a guest by Congressman Kevin Yoder to attend the event.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Her husband Srinivas Kuchibhotla was shot dead while his colleague, also an Indian, sustained bullet injuries after an American navy veteran opened fire in a crowded suburban bar in Olathe city in February last year.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The shooter, thought they were Middle Easterners and was heard telling them to "get out of my country" at the time of the shooting.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Earlier in the day, Sunayana, met a number of Congressional leaders, including House Speaker Paul Ryan.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The speaker said he knows Sunayana's story and remembers her.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Yoder said that he had asked Sunayana to be his guest as a recognition for her tireless efforts to promote peace, and as a message to the Indian community that the US is a nation of immigrants and they are welcome here.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Each year, I have the privilege of inviting one guest to attend the president's State of the Union address. This year, I invited Sunayana Dumala, widow of Srinivas Kuchibhotla, the Indian immigrant who was tragically killed in the hate crime shooting last year at in Olathe," Yoder had said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Indian-American community welcomed the move.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Brijpal Singh, the chairman of the India Association of Kansas City, said this step will not only assure the Indian community but also send a strong message about the unstinted support from the elected representatives and administration towards the Indian community.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"This further strengthens our belief and confidence in the American system and its Constitution where everyone is respected, loved and is welcome," Singh said in a letter to Yoder.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The State of the Union Address is a traditional annual speech of the US president to a joint session of the Congress where he gives an account of the situation in the country.</p>