On January 5, British Member of Parliament Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi of the Labour Party wrote to Prime Minister Boris Johnson drawing his attention to the burgeoning farmers’ movement in India. For several weeks, farmers from across India have been gathering at the borders Delhi shares with Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to protest three agriculture-related laws passed by the Center.
In his letter Dhesi who represents the Slough constituency in the British Parliament said, “Many constituents, particularly those emanating from the Punjab and other parts of India, were horrified to see footage of water cannon, tear gas and brute force being used against hundreds of thousands peacefully protesting farmers.”
Dhesi then refers to the letter previously sent by MPs to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab urging him to raise the matter with Indian authorities. He then went on to clarify Johnson’s confusion over the matter telling him that the farmers’ issue “has nothing to do with Pakistan” as previously surmised by the Prime Minister.
A national lockdown was recently imposed across England recently in wake of a new strain of the Coronavirus posing greater risk to its populace. Following this Prime Minister Johnson had cancelled his scheduled trip to India. Dhesi has now urged Johnson to “convey to the Indian Prime Minister the heart-felt anxieties of our constituents, our hopes for a speedy resolution to the current deadlock”.
This letter has received signatures from 100 members of both houses of the British Parliament. The entire text of the letter may be read here:
Great that over 100 MPs and Lords signed cross-party letter to the Prime Minister, given our serious concerns for the peaceful India #FarmersProtest.
Boris Johnson must raise it with Indian PM when they next liaise, expressing hopes of speedy resolution to the current deadlock. pic.twitter.com/mLw3tYHA2S
— Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi MP (@TanDhesi) January 8, 2021
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