British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was labelled “absolutely clueless” after a parliamentary faux pas on Wednesday when seemed to confuse ongoing farmers’ protest in India with a dispute between India and Pakistan.
British Sikh Labour MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi addressed Johnson during the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) session about the protests in India, prompting Johnson to give an off-the-mark response.
“Many constituents, especially those emanating from Punjab and other parts of India, and I were horrified to see footage of water cannons, teargas and brute force being used against peacefully protesting farmers. However, it was heart-warming to see those very farmers feeding those forces who had been ordered to beat or suppress them. What indomitable spirit and it takes a special kind of people to do that,” the opposition lawmaker said.
“So, will the Prime Minister (Johnson) convey to the Indian Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) our heartfelt anxieties, our hopes for a speedy resolution to the current deadlock and does he agree that everyone has a fundamental right to peaceful protest,” he questioned Johnson.
Johnson, in his brief response, went on to address a completely unrelated matter instead.
“Our view is that of course, we have serious concerns about what is happening between India and Pakistan but these are pre-eminently matters for those two governments to settle and I know that he (Modi) appreciates that point”, said Johnson.
Dhesi, who looked visibly perplexed, was quick to take to social media as he posted the exchange on Twitter, adding: “But it might help if our PM actually knew what he was talking about!”
Shortly after his comments, Twitter users mocked him for his confusing statement with British member of Parliament Afzal Khan calling it “a new low even for Boris Johnson”.
“The issue has nothing to do with India and Pakistan. Incredible,” Khan said.
Another parliamentarian Zahra Sultana pointed out that Johnson seemed to confuse the farmers protest with the international conflict between India and Pakistan over the disputed region of Kashmir.
The UK government has so far refused to be drawn into the ongoing protests in India, with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) saying the matter of handling protests was an internal one.
The police handling of protests is a matter for the government of India, an FCDO spokesperson said last week, following a letter initiated by Dhesi and signed by 35 other UK MPs over the issue.
Meanwhile, Canada has already denounced the use of force against the protesting farmers.
Thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and several other states have been protesting on various borders of Delhi since November 26, seeking repeal of the three farm laws enacted in September.
Dubbing these laws as “anti-farmer”, these farmers say that the newly enacted legislation would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price system, leaving them at the “mercy” of big corporations. However, the government has claimed that the new laws will bring farmers better opportunities and usher in new technologies in agriculture.
