Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in London to attend the 2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, and to meet with UK Prime Minister Theresa May, as well as Queen Elizabeth II. Ahead of Modi’s visit, a digital van emblazoned with the words ‘Modi Not Welcome’ has been circulating in central London’s Parliament Square, Trafalgar Square, Embankment and Downing Street areas, according to the South Asia Solidarity Group. The van’s digital billboard also informs passersby about the eight-year-old girl in Kashmir who was drugged, gang-raped and murdered, saying that Modi’s “party leaders have been protesting in defence of her rapists.” #ModiNotWelcome protests were planned at Downing Street, where the residence of the prime minister is located, on Wednesday, April 18.
Modi will be hosting an online event, #BharatKiBaatSabkeSaath, later on Wednesday. The South Asia Solidarity Group, which says it is an anti-imperialist and anti-racist organisation, has called on netizens to launch a social media storm with the hashtags #ModiNotWelcome and #BharatKiBaatSabkeSaath. This is not the first time the UK has seen anti-Modi protests. His visit to London in November 2015 also prompted protests, with demonstrators gathering and chanting “Modi go home” and “David Cameron shame shame” outside Downing Street.
Photo credits: South Asia Solidarity Group