On Sunday, a protest was organised outside the Indian High Commission in London against the historic farm laws brought in by the Modi government.
Several well-known known Khalistanis were present at the event, including Paramjeet Singh Pamma and Kuldeep Singh Chaheru. While Pamma is a member of the banned terrorist organisation, Sikhs for Justice, Chaheru belongs to Federation of Sikh organization, a known front of Babbar Khalsa, a Sikh extremist organisation. They had gathered outside the Indian High Commission and raised anti-India slogans while waving the Khalistani flags.
As per reports, 13 protestors were arrested by the police for violating COVID protocols. While 4 of them were allowed to go after paying a fine. Nine remain in custody.
A large team of London Metropolitan Police was deployed outside the Indian High Commission. When the Indian High Commission contacted the UK Foreign Office, the crowd was quickly disposed of by the police. While speaking about the event, Vishwesh Negi from the Indian High Commission stated that the crowd comprised of anti-India forces, who wanted to exploit the farmer agitation for their own agenda. He said, “As expected, it soon became clear that the gathering was led by anti-India separatists who had taken the opportunity of the farmers’ protests in India to pursue their own anti-India agenda.”
#WATCH: ‘Khalistani’ flags at a protest opposite Indian High Commission, London. The protest was to be against Indian farm laws. https://t.co/YeOWlFwokj pic.twitter.com/Ez5GF3MxzA
— ANI (@ANI) December 6, 2020
36 British MPs calls for urgent meeting on farmer protests in India
In a letter addressed to the Foreign Secretary, Labour Party MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi claimed, “The introduction of these new laws by the Indian government (Centre) has, despite the Coronavirus, triggered widespread farmers’ protests across the country for failing to protect farmers from exploitation and to ensure fair prices for their produce. 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.”
Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi has claimed that several British Sikhs have been forced to notify their MPs about the same as the law would supposedly affect their ancestral lands in Punjab. “Being famous as “India’s bread-basket”, many Punjabis rely on farming for their existence. About three-quarters of the state’s 30 million-strong population is involved in agriculture. Therefore, these new laws present the Punjabis with a huge problem, with some describing it as a death warrant,” he added.
