LONDON – Groups protesting against atrocities in India during PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’s visit here have turned violent after tricolour wastorn down from one of the official flagpoles set up for all 53 Commonwealthcountries.
Modi, who is in the UK for bilateral talks and the multilateralCommonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), was greeted by protestersas he met his British counterpart Theresa May.
Some of the protesters at Parliament Square yesterday turned aggressiveafter the Indian tricolour was torn down from the flagpole.
A UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) spokesperson said, “While peoplehave the right to hold peaceful protests, we are disappointed with theaction taken by People in Parliament Square and contacted HighCommissioner Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha as soon as we were made aware.
“The visit to the UK by Prime Minister Modi has strengthened ourrelationship with India and we look forward to working even more closelytogether on a number of important areas.”
A senior broadcast journalist from one of the leading Indian media channelscovering the protests was caught in a violent scrum with some of the moreaggressive pro-Khalistani protesters and Scotland Yard officers on duty hadto step in to the rescue. The group is planning to file a complaint withthe Metropolitan Police on the incident.
“We have expressed our concerns with the British authorities and they haveapologised for the incident. We have been warning against some of theseelements out to make trouble and they have assured us of action. The Indianflag has now been replaced,” a senior Indian official associated with thePM’s visit said.
“Police are investigating after an Indian flag in Parliament Square waspulled down at 1500 (UK time) on Wednesday, 18 April. The flag has beenreplaced. There have been no arrests. Enquiries continue,” a MetropolitanPolice statement said.
The pro-Khalistani demonstrators from Sikh Federation UK and demonstratorsfrom the so-called “Minorities Against Modi” group, led by Pakistani-originpeer Lord Ahmed, were among nearly protesters who descended upon ParliamentSquare. These included groups led by some Kashmiri separatist groups and atone point, some of them had surrounded the Mahatma Gandhi statue at thesquare with their banners and flags.
Officials involved with the prime ministerial visit to the UK had said thatprotests and demonstrations are “part and parcel of any democratic society”as long as they remain peaceful. There are now concerns that some of themore aggressive elements hijacked the tone of the protests.