(Image source from: Time)

Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation as a Supreme Court Judge on Saturday amid sexual assault allegations has elevated rage among Indian-American lawmakers.

Kamala Harris, the United States Senator from California and Representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington have issued clarion calls to last the fight that saw the nomination of the controversial judge nearly disrupted in the Senate.

Kavanaugh, 53, was confirmed 50-48. He was on time sworn in by both Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and the retired Justice Anthony M. Kennedy.

Days after President Donald Trump shortlisted Kavanaugh to become an Associate  Justice of the Supreme Court, an American professor of psychology at Palo Alto University, Christine Blasey Ford, accused him of sexual assault when both were in high school over three decades ago.

"There is no question today was a really tough day," Harris, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee who led the fight against the judge, said in a video message. "But I wanted to speak to all of the survivors of sexual assault. And I want to thank you for speaking your truth, for sharing your stories, for having the courage to require people to understand and to hear. And I just want you to remember that your strength your leadership, your courage is so important and you will not be silenced."

She added: "We are all in this together. Let us keep this fight going."

My message to sexual assault survivors: Thank you for your courage. Your voices have mattered. pic.twitter.com/nOwUEklBW8

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) October 6, 2018

Earlier, in a Senate floor speech filled red meat, Harris had condemned the Republicans' decision to stick with Kavanaugh regardless of the accusations against him.

"Is he fit to be a jurist in the place where we have said justice in our country occurs?" she said. "When it comes to Dr. Ford's allegations, we fell short. We fell short. We did not do her justice, we did not do the American people justice."

Jayapal, on Saturday, questioned the legitimacy of Kavanaugh. She said in a statement: "Eleanor Roosevelt once said: 'We go ahead together or we go down together.' Today, it is clear the party of Donald Trump wants us to go down together, ramming through a Supreme Court nominee at the expense of the legitimacy of our highest court and public trust."

She said the Republicans and the White House could have chosen another nominee. "They could have let a full investigation find out all the facts," she said. "Instead, for the first in our modern history, the Senate has confirmed an individual whose relevant documents were not released to the public and who has, at best, misleading the Senate about his involvement in critical issues such as warrantless surveillance and past judicial confirmations. Worse still, this nominee has a giant asterisk next to his name around the multiple sexual assault allegations against him. In the end, his over partisanship, belligerence, and disrespect during his last hearings were shocking and made it clear that he is simply not fit to serve as a Supreme Court Justice."

Jayapal said Kavanaugh's "confirmation, opposed by a plurality of the American people, undermines the reputation, credibility and, ultimately, the success of the highest court of this land."

She pointed out that "FBI investigators did not even speak to" Ford, "at the White House's apparent direction."

Jayapal added: "Judge Kavanaugh's confirmation today is, simply, a slap in the face to all women across our country who simply have not been believed for so long. Today, to those survivors of sexual assault who are weeping and despondent, I send courage and strength. Do not lose hope. Your experiences are real, your pain and stories are part of the tapestry of injustice that only calls us even more strongly to work together for justice and rise up - together."

She said, as a member of the House Judiciary Committee, she will do "everything in my power to ensure full oversight and accountability - no matter what the U.S. Senate does today. We will never be deterred in the fight for justice that we can all believe in."

-Sowmya Sangam