Farmers Movement Archive

British MPs to debate safety of farm protesters in India on March 8

LONDON: British MPs will debate the safety of farmer protesters in India and press freedoms in the House of Commons on March 8. The debate is in response to the petition ‘Urge the Indian Government to ensure safety of protestors & press freedom’ started by Maidenhead Liberal Democrat councillor Gurch Singh, who has ancestral roots in Ludhiana. It has garnered more than 115,000 signatures on the UK Parliament’s petitions website. Scottish National Party MP Martyn Day will open the 90-minute debate at 10pm (IST), which can be viewed in India on Parliament TV. On January 14, Westminster Hall debates were suspended owing to Covid-19 but are set to restart on March 8 in a hybrid fashion. “The debate will add pressure on to the UK government to take this issue up with the Indian authorities either directly or at an international level,” Singh said. “This is a matter of human rights, the right for farmers to peacefully protest against laws that would otherwise exploit them. It’s also about allowing journalists to freely report on what’s happening. This is no different from the UK government taking a stance on protesters in Hong Kong.” He said the petitions committee, which schedules debates for petitions with over 100,000 signatures, “realised that this is very much a live issue and it’s not something that can be delayed any further. Many farmers have lost their lives, some are still missing, others are locked away in prison and journalists are being silenced.” Jasvir Singh, chair of City Sikhs, has written a letter to UK PM Boris Johnson, asking him to take note of the “violations of human rights in India in relation to the farmers’ protests” and asking why UK did not “remind India of its legal responsibilities towards own citizens” when it held chair of the UN Security Council last month. Watch UK Parliament to discuss farmers' protest in India on March 8

The Times of India

2021-03-04

Chandigarh