The Indian High Commission in London reached out to the UK Foreign and Home office after a large group of protestors began protesting in front of the mission, defying COVID-19 protocols.
The demonstration was attended by 3,500-4,000 people, which defied the rule of no gathering of more than 30 people, which has been put in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Nearly 700 vehicles were also spotted at the rally, even though permission was sought only for 40.
Also read| Congress extends support to ‘Bharat Bandh’ as deadlock between farmers, govt continues
Vishwesh Negi, Minister (Political, Press and Information), Indian high commission in London said, “The developing situation was brought to the attention of the UK Foreign Office and Home Office. London Metropolitan Police managed, controlled and eventually disposed the crowds. We could see that a few violent were arrested.”
Protestors had told the authorities while taking permission that they will be protesting against the new farms laws of India but later the protest was also reportedly used for raising fears of anti-India elements behind the move.
Also read| UN chief comments on farmers protest in India
Negi explained, “As expected, it soon became clear that the gathering was led by anti-India separatists who had taken the opportunity of the farm protests in India to ostensibly back the farmers in India but use the opportunity to pursue their own anti-India agenda.”
Metropolitan Police had also issued a reminder, ahead of the protest to follow COVID protocols. The High Commission had raised the concerns of the upcoming protest with UK’s metropolitan police earlier.
While this is the first such protest this year in front of the Indian mission, last year saw two major protests in the aftermath of India removing special status for the erstwhile status of Jammu and Kashmir. That time, most of the protestors were from the Pakistani diaspora, many of whom tried to vandalize the Indian mission by breaking a windowpane. The matter was discussed at the highest level with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi raising the matter with UK PM Boris Johnson, who assured that the incident will not be repeated.
This article is auto-generated by Algorithm Source: www.wionews.com