India deported British MP because she was ‘a Pakistan proxy’
February 18, 2020 03:09 PM
India’s Congress party leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi on Tuesday backed the deportation of British MP Debbie Abrahams saying that it was necessary as she is a Pakistan proxy.
"The deportation of Debbie Abrahams by India was indeed necessary, as she is not just an MP, but a Pak proxy known for her clasp with Pak govt and ISI. Every attempt that tries to attack India's sovereignty must be thwarted," Singhvi said in a tweet.
Abrahams, a critic of Narendra Modi government's move to scrap special status for Jammu and Kashmir, was on Monday denied entry into India with authorities saying she did not possess a valid visa to enter the country.
A Labour Party MP who also chairs a Parliamentary Group for Kashmir had landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on an Emirates flight from Dubai at 9 am along with an Indian aide Harpreet Upal. She had an electronic visa (e-visa) issued last October with one-year validity. Officials in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said she was informed that her e-visa on arrival had been cancelled even before she flew to India.
Fellow party member Shashi Tharoor, however, had a different reaction. He slammed the BJP government, wondering why it was scared of critics if the situation in Kashmir was normal.
"...conduct really unworthy of a democracy and guaranteed to give us a far worse press than if she had been admitted. Govt claims the situation is normal in Kashmir. Why is the govt then so scared of critics?" he wrote on Twitter.
Recounting her experience at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, Debbie Abrahams said she had presented herself at the immigration desk along with her documents and e-visa but “...the official looked at his screen and started shaking his head". “Then he told me my visa was rejected, took my passport and disappeared for 10 minutes."
A British High Commission spokesperson said, “We are in contact with the Indian authorities to understand why Abrahams MP was denied entry to India. We provided consular assistance to her whilst she was at New Delhi Airport."
Abrahams returned to the UK in the afternoon. Responding to reports she didn’t possess a valid visa, she tweeted: “I’m sorry but that just is not the reality.”