One-sided discussion: India condemns UK lawmakers' debate on farmers' stir
The Indian High Commission in London has objected to a debate among a handful of United Kingdom lawmakers on the "safety of farmers" and "press freedom." The debate, which the Commission said was replete with false assertions, took place inside the British Parliamentary premises. A petition by Maidenhead Liberal Democrat leader Gurch Singh, which garnered over 100,000 signatures, had laid foundations for the debate.
The British Parliament had reserved 90 minutes for the debate, which was opened by Scottish National Party's Martin Day. "The UK government has already stated that the farm reforms are a matter for the Indian government's decision. So we are not debating the reforms now. We are debating for the safety of the protesters," he said, pointing toward the use of water cannon, tear gas.
Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn asked why so many unprecedented protests were "turning up." "The arrests of journalists is a matter of serious concern," he said. UK Minister of State for Asia, Nigel Adams, underlined that the close ties between Britain and India do not stop the former from flagging concerns. However siding with India, Conservative MP Theresa Villiers drew similarities between protests in both the countries.
Villers highlighted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has repeatedly assured the reforms are meant to make farming more profitable. She added that when thousands of people participate in protests, "no policing response can altogether avoid controversial episodes." "We receive complaints against policemen here in the UK too when there are mass protests. That doesn't mean the UK is against democracy," Villers asked.
Responding sharply to the debate, the High Commission said it would have refrained from commenting on an internal discussion, but was forced to set the record straight this time. "We deeply regret that rather than a balanced debate, false assertions — without substantiation or facts — were made, casting aspersions on the largest functioning democracy in the world and its institutions," the statement added.
The Indian mission reminded that the British press had also witnessed the events linked to farmers' protests, hence, there is no "question of lack of freedom of the media in India." It expressed sadness over the fact that a false narrative on farmers' agitation was being created, despite the High Commission addressing issues raised in the petition time and again.
Since the end of November, farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at Delhi's borders, demanding that three laws, passed in the Parliament in mid-September, are revoked. The government believes these reforms will swell the farmers' income but the growers say they will be left at the mercy of big corporate players. Their agitation had turned violent on January 26.
