100 Britain MPs urge Boris Johnson to raise farmers’ protest with PM Modi

The MPs have asked Boris Johnson to press for a speedy resolution of the current deadlock between the Centre and protesting farmers.

Protesters outside the Indian High Commission in London on 6 December | Twitter: @ANI

New Delhi: As many as 100 Britain MPs, across party lines, have urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson to take up the issue of the ongoing farmers’ protest in India with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In a letter, the MPs have asked Johnson to press for a “speedy resolution of the current deadlock and the democratic human right of citizens to peacefully protest”. Constituents of these MPs include a huge population of the Indian diaspora, with many from farming backgrounds.

Thousands of farmers have been protesting against the three contentious farm laws at Delhi’s borders for over a month now. Water cannons were deployed and multiple rounds of tear gas shells fired by the police at the agitators when they reached the Singhu border in November.

While eight rounds of talks have been held between farmer unions and the central government, the deadlock over the farm laws continues. The farmers have demanded a total repeal of the three laws, which the government has refused.

‘Heartfelt anxieties of constituents’

The letter of 5 January was shared by Slough MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi on Twitter Friday. It came the same day Johnson cancelled his scheduled trip to India as a chief guest on Republic Day, amid a growing crisis created by the new strain of the novel coronavirus in the UK.

“Many constituents, especially those emanating from Punjab and other parts of India, were horrified to see the use of water cannons, tear gas and brute force being used on hundreds of thousands of peacefully protesting farmers. The issue has so galvanised the Indian diaspora community, especially those of a Punjabi or Sikh background, and others who have land or links to farming in India, that tens of thousands engaged in global protests, including in towns and cities across the UK,” the letter noted.

It also stated that another letter was previously sent to UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and the MPs were assured that the issue would be taken up with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. Raab, however, failed to do so when he met PM Modi in December, the letter to Johnson noted.

The MPs have now asked the Britain’s PM to confirm that he will take up the matter with Modi in the earliest. “Given the urgency of the matter, can you please confirm that you will definitely convey to the Indian Prime Minister the heartfelt anxieties of our constituents, our hopes for a speedy resolution of the current deadlock and also for the democratic human right of citizens to peacefully protest,” it noted.

Johnson’s ‘misunderstanding of the issue’

The letter also claimed that Johnson has ‘misunderstood’ the ongoing protests in India. While responding to a question on the protests by Slough MP Dhesi at the UK Parliament on 9 December, Johnson pointed at Pakistan and said the issue was for “those two governments to settle”.

The MP’s have now asked Johnson to clarify his stance on the protests. “Could you please respond to clarify your understanding of this important issue? Do you indeed agree that everyone has the fundamental right to engage in peaceful protest?”, the letter read.

It was also sent after Dhesi said many constituents have asked their MPs to raise the issue with PM Johnson. “We hope that he passes on our hopes of a speedy resolution to the current deadlock,” said Dhesi.