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London:
A gaggle of 36 cross-party parliamentarians have written to UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab asking him to make representations together with his Indian counterpart, S Jaishankar, in regards to the affect on British Punjabis affected by the demonstrations by farmers in opposition to new agricultural reforms in India.
The letter, issued on Friday, has been drafted by British Sikh Labour MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi and signed by different Indian-origin MPs together with Labour’s Virendra Sharma, Seema Malhotra and Valerie Vaz in addition to former Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn.
India has referred to as the remarks by overseas leaders and politicians on protests by farmers as “ill-informed” and “unwarranted” because the matter pertained to the inner affairs of a democratic nation.
The letter from the parliamentarians urges the minister to arrange an pressing assembly with them to debate the “deteriorating situation in Punjab” and seeks an replace on any communication the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has had with the Indian authorities on the problem.
“This is a joint letter calling for representation to be made by yourself to your Indian counterpart about the impact on British Sikhs and Punjabis, with longstanding links to land and farming in India,” reads the letter.
“This is an issue of particular concern to Sikhs in the UK and those linked to Punjab, although it also heavily impacts on other Indian states. Many British Sikhs and Punjabis have taken this matter up with their MPs, as they are directly affected with family members and ancestral land in Punjab,” it reads.
The FCDO is but to answer the letter or with an official assertion on the matter.
Reacting to the feedback by the overseas leaders, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava on Tuesday stated, “We have seen some ill-informed comments relating to farmers in India. Such comments are unwarranted, especially when pertaining to the internal affairs of a democratic country.”
In a terse message, the ministry added that “it is also best that diplomatic conversations are not misrepresented for political purposes.”
The newest intervention by British MPs follows Mr Dhesi and different politicians taking to social media to specific assist for the farmers. Lord Indarjit Singh, a crossbench peer within the House of Lords, additionally raised the problem within the Upper House of Parliament earlier this week.
The UK Cabinet Office minister responding within the House, Lord Nicholas True, refused to deal with a “broad denunciation” of any nation, including: “Our values are democratic; they are very widely shared and practised across the world. We wish to sustain that.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)
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