Britain’s youngest sitting MP Nadia Whittome, a person of Indian origin, questioned her government on the language used to describe the violence in Delhi as the UK Parliament discussed the issue on Wednesday.
Whittome, a Labour Party MP, brought this up as several members of the UK Parliament criticised the Indian government for the violence and asked the British government to take action.
Whittome asked,“Will the government join me in rejecting the language of riots, clashes, protest and communal violence, when this is in fact a continuation of sustained and systemic Hindutva violence on the Muslims and many ethnic minorities in India that is sanctioned by Modi’s BJP government?”
Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Nigel Adams, responded saying, “The UK government had long regarded protest as a legitimate means of raising issues and part of democratic society, but any allegations of human rights abuses are very concerning. We Believe they should be investigated thoroughly, promptly and transparently.”
Adams told the House of Commons that the events in Delhi were “very concerning” and that UK was monitoring the violence and developments around CAA “closely”, Times of India reported.
Labour MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi said that the mob violence in Delhi brought back memories of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and that the persecution of Indian Muslims was “utterly intolerable”.
Tory MP Nusrat Ghani asked the minister to make sure the concerns of the MPs were relayed to Indian authorities, “including the brutality that seems to have been meted out by those who should be enforcing the law, which was covered by the BBC Monday night,” the report said.
The Wire reports that the violence in India’s capital had been raised in both the houses of the UK Parliament last week and hundreds of people had protested outside the High Commission of India in London.
This is the latest in a series of concerns raised by foreign lawmakers on the riots in Delhi in which at least 46 people were killed.
On Monday, Iran’s foreign minister Javed Zarif said Iran condemned “the wave of organized violence against Indian Muslims” and urged Indian authorities to “not let senseless thuggery prevail”.