UK govt urged to confront Modi on rights violations

LONDON: A British parliamentarian has said that Kashmiris and Sikhs are outraged that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been invited to visit 10 Downing Street this month and it’s urgent that the Indian PM must be confronted on the gross human rights violations of religious minorities in India.
Addressing the All Party Parliamentary Group for British Sikhs, Labour MP from the Wolverhampton South West Rob Marris said that the two communities had been worst affected by the actions of the successive Indian governments as members of these communities traced their roots back to the occupied state of Kashmir and Punjab.
He called on Prime Minister David Cameron and opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn to confront Modi when they would meet him and “ask him tough questions on the human rights violations of Sikhs, Kashmiris and others”. The meeting in the Parliament House was convened by the Sikh Federation, Awaaz Network, Amnesty International and members of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front and representatives of Indian Muslims also attended. It was jointly agreed that large scale protests would be held on 12th and 13th of November. The meeting was attended by a large number of representatives of Gurdwaras from across the UK as they said that thousands would descend on the streets of London while Modi was here.
The MP said that it’s no small matter that Narendra Modi was banned from entering the UK for 10 years after the 2002 Gujarat riots. “Travel restrictions were placed on him. He was banned because under his watch three British Muslims were burnt to death. The people remember that and are concerned. They believe that India must provide answers to the victims.”
The MP said that UK enjoyed strong cultural and political relations with India and these relations must be further strengthened but not at the cost of human rights. “We want our government to engage with India. We want our government to confront Narendra Modi and tell him that we are concerned about human rights violations in India. The Sikhs remember attacks on the Golden Temple, there was genocide of Sikhs. Since 1984, Kashmiris have been killed and then there is the unresolved issue of Kashmir. The valley has become one of the most militarised regions in the world.”
Sikh representatives said that the “genocide of Sikhs will never be forgotten and every self-respecting Sikh will protest and will stand up to the champion of the Hindutva fascism”. They said in their speeches that Sikhs were eager to join protest to tell Narendra Modi and the Indian establishment that they would not rest until they got justice and the vendetta of the Indian establishment against them stopped.
Indian Muslim representatives said that the Muslims had not forgotten the massacre of 2002 in Gujarat. They said that it’s a kick in the teeth of British Muslims that Modi was visiting India and was the chief architect of genocide of the Muslims. They said that thousands of Christians had also been killed under his watch.