The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the matter was taken up with the British authorities, who expressed their regrets and immediately had the torn flag replaced with a new one.
LONDON: Protest of the ethnic group at the Parliament Square in London took a violent turn during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit. Some groups tore down the Indian flag from one of the official flagpoles set up for all 53 Commonwealth countries.
The Metropolitan Police in its statement said, “Police are investigating after an Indian flag in Parliament Square was pulled down at 1500 (UK time) on Wednesday, 18 April. The flag has been replaced. There have been no arrests. Enquiries continue”.
PM Modi, who is in the UK for bilateral talks and the multilateral Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) received quite an outrage from the Indian communities in London. The anti-Modi protesters from Caste Watch UK and South Asia Solidarity group waved banners such as ‘Modi, you have blood on your hands’ and ‘Modi Not Welcome’.
MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the matter was taken up by the British authorities, who expressed their regrets and immediately had the torn flag replaced with a new one.
“We’re deeply anguished with the incident involving our national flag. The matter was taken up strongly with the UK side. They have regretted the incident. The flag was immediately replaced. We expect legal action against the people who were involved in this,” MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar told the media on Thursday.
Earlier on Wednesday, the pro-Khalistani demonstrators from Sikh Federation UK along with some Kashmiri separatist groups protested against the atrocities in India opposite 10 Downing Street as the Indian PM arrived for his breakfast meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May.
They were joined by other protesters carrying images the eight-year-old rape victim from Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir, and Gauri Lankesh, the Indian journalist who was shot at her doorstep last year.
“While people have the right to hold peaceful protests, we are disappointed with the action taken by a small minority in Parliament Square and contacted High Commissioner Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha as soon as we were made aware,” said a UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) spokesperson.
A senior Indian official associated with the PM’s visit said, “We have expressed our concerns with the British authorities and they have apologised for the incident. We have been warning against some of these elements out to make trouble and they have assured us of action. The Indian flag has now been replaced”.
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
