'If her name or complexion bothers you...': Ohio SG Mathura Sridharan trolled, AG claps back to troll

Indian-origin Mathura Sridharan was appointed as Ohio’s 12th solicitor general. However, her feat garnered wrath online with trolls questioning why a ’non-US-origin’ person was picked for the post. Soon after her appointment, Sridharan’s LinkedIn went viral with critics questioning her credibility.

All this prompted Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost to issue a clarification, slamming the troll for ignorance. Yost, who appointed Mathura for the post, said that she is wrongly being portrayed as a non-American.

“A few commenters have asserted incorrectly that Mathura is not American. She is a United States citizen, married to a US citizen, and the child of naturalised US citizens,” he said. “If her name or her complexion bothers you, the problem is not with her or her appointment,” Yost said in a statement.

“Mathura is brilliant… she won her argument at SCOTUS last year. Both the SGs she worked under (Flowers & Gaiser) recommended her. I told her when I originally hired her that I needed her to argue with me. She does… All the time! Excited to promote her. She will serve Ohio well,” he added.

Trolls question her religious identity

However, Yost’s take on the matter was also met with trolling as people pointed out that she is not “American-American”, with some even questioning her religious identity. “Is she a Christian? That’s the biggest factor that concerns me. Based on the bindi on her forehead, I worry she is not,” one user wrote online.

“Another American job… given away to foreigners,” another wrote. “She’s Indian. They all have a loyalty first to other Indians. Horrible pick. Un-American. The GOP is pathetic,” a third user exclaimed.

When it comes to Mathura’s career, before joining the Ohio Solicitor’s Office, Mathura clerked for Judge Steven J. Menashi of the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Judge Deborah A. Batts of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

She holds a Juris Doctorate from the New York University School of Law, a Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Electrical Engineering & Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.