What Is India’s Response To The Farm Row Debate In British Parliament?

British lawmakers looked divided while raising their concerns over the farm protests in India. But it didn’t prevent the Indian High Commission in London from giving a sharp response to the debate.

Why British Parliament discussed farm protests in India?

On Monday, the British Parliament allowed the lawmakers to debate the “safety of farmers” and “press freedom” in India. The debate went for 90 minutes in which several MPs of the Labour party, Liberal democrats and the Scottish National Party raised their concerns over farm protests in India.

It all started with Maidenhead Liberal Democrat leader Gurch Singh of Indian origin initiating a petition signed by over a lakh of UK residents within a short time. The parliament debate was a response to the petition.

Scottish National Party’s Martin Day opened the debate by saying that they weren’t debating the farm laws but the safety of the protestors. He said that use of water canons and tear gas and repeated clash between protestors and police were a matter of concern. He also highlighted that several farmers had reportedly committed suicide.

Some lawmakers supported the cause of India

Conservative MP Theresa Villiers stood in the support to India by saying that Britain too had witnessed police atrocities over protestors but that didn’t mean that UK was against democracy.

What was India’s response to the debate?

The foreign ministry said in a statement that India would like to emphasize that the protests must be seen in the context of democratic ethos and polity of the country.

Source:- https://bit.ly/3quqvOf

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