ഒബാമയുടെ ഐടി വിഭാഗം തലവനും ഇന്ത്യന് വംശജനുമായ അനീഷ് ചോപ്ര രാജിവച്ചു.
രാജിപ്രഖ്യാപന കാരണങ്ങളൊന്നും വ്യക്തമാക്കിയിട്ടില്ലെങ്കിലും വിര്ജീനിയ
സംസ്ഥാന ഗവര്ണര് സ്ഥാനത്തേയ്ക്ക് മത്സരിക്കാനാണ് ചോപ്രയുടെ
നീക്കമെന്നാണ് റിപ്പോര്ട്ടുകള്.
ചീഫ് ടെക്നോളജി ഓഫീസര് (സിടിഒ) പദവിയാണ് ചോപ്ര വഹിച്ചിരുന്നത്. 21-ാം
നൂറ്റാണ്ടിലേക്ക് അമേരിക്കയെ നയിക്കുന്നതിനുള്ള പരിശ്രമങ്ങളില് നിര്ണായക
സംഭാവനകളാണ് ചോപ്ര നല്കിയതെന്ന് രാജി വാര്ത്ത അറിയിച്ചുകൊണ്ട് പ്രസിഡന്റ്
ഒബാമ പറഞ്ഞു. 2008 -ലാണ് ഒബാമ സംഘത്തില് ഐടി വിഭാഗത്തില് ചോപ്ര
നിയമിതനായത്.
Aneesh Chopra, Obama's Indian American IT head, quits
Washington: Aneesh Chopra, President
Barack Obama's information technology honcho, who was the highest
ranking Indian American in the Obama administration, is leaving the
White House, apparently to try his hand at politics.
Announcing
the departure of Chopra, Assistant to the President and the federal
government's first Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Obama said "Chopra
did groundbreaking work to bring our government into the 21st century.
"Aneesh
found countless ways to engage the American people using technology,
from electronic health records for veterans, to expanding access to
broadband for rural communities, to modernizing government records."
"His legacy of leadership and innovation will benefit Americans for years to come, and I thank him for his outstanding service."
While
the official announcement gave no reason for Chopra's resignation from
White House, the Washington Post citing unnamed Democrats said he is
widely expected to announce that he will run for lieutenant governor in
Virginia.
Chopra has flirted with running for statewide office in
Virginia for years, building up support among Democratic activists and
serving on Obama's transition team in 2008, it said.
The timing
of his resignation allows Chopra to campaign this year for his two
former bosses: former governor Tim Kaine, who is running to replace
retiring Senator James Webb this year; and Obama, who will face a tough
fight in the swing state of Virginia.
He is expected to attend
Virginia Democrats' biggest fundraiser of the year, the
Jefferson-Jackson dinner, Feb 11 in Richmond, where those who are
looking to run statewide host parties and mingle with more than 1,500
activists, the Post said.
The eldest son of Indian immigrants,
Chopra, 40, was sworn in into his White House job on May 22, 2009 after
serving as Secretary of Technology for the Commonwealth of Virginia from
January 2006 to April 2009.
He previously served as Managing Director with the Advisory Board Company, a publicly-traded healthcare think tank.
Chopra was named to Government Technology magazine's Top 25 in their Doers, Dreamers, and Drivers issue in 2008.
Aneesh Chopra received his BA from The Johns Hopkins University and his MPP from Harvard's Kennedy School.