AMRITSAR: A section of British Sikhs have written to Prime Minister (PM) hopefuls Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak to clarify their views on various issues especially the three issues concerning British Sikhs
Jaspal Singh, National Press Secretary, Sikh Federation (UK) informed on Monday that the three main issues were the release and the return of Jagtar Singh Johal, who was in an Indian jail for nearly five years, UK Home Secretary Priti Patel’s alleged offensive and unsubstantiated comments labeling British Sikhs as extremists and addressing anti-Sikh hate in the same way as antisemitism and Islamophobia.
In a letter sent by Sikh Federation to both the leadership hopefuls, the Sikh body wrote, “If you become the next PM , will you have a new Home Secretary who is competent to tackle the many challenges facing the proper administration of the Home Office where Priti Patel has clearly failed and hit the rest button to have a different relationship with grassroots Sikh organisations?”
Bhai Amrik Singh, Chair, Sikh Federation (UK) further asked, “Will you as PM acknowledge and address anti-Sikh hate in the same way as anti-Semitism and Islamophobia by proving resources to tackle the massive increase in reported anti-Sikh hate crimes and support a community-led solution to increased reporting so law enforcement agencies are better able to understand and confront the issue”.
The letter also addresses Jagtar’s death penalty in India. “Will you increase efforts to secure the immediate release and return of Jagtar to his family in Scotland in line with UK government pronouncements on the arbitrary detention of British nationals.”
Jaspal Singh, National Press Secretary, Sikh Federation (UK) informed on Monday that the three main issues were the release and the return of Jagtar Singh Johal, who was in an Indian jail for nearly five years, UK Home Secretary Priti Patel’s alleged offensive and unsubstantiated comments labeling British Sikhs as extremists and addressing anti-Sikh hate in the same way as antisemitism and Islamophobia.
In a letter sent by Sikh Federation to both the leadership hopefuls, the Sikh body wrote, “If you become the next PM , will you have a new Home Secretary who is competent to tackle the many challenges facing the proper administration of the Home Office where Priti Patel has clearly failed and hit the rest button to have a different relationship with grassroots Sikh organisations?”
Bhai Amrik Singh, Chair, Sikh Federation (UK) further asked, “Will you as PM acknowledge and address anti-Sikh hate in the same way as anti-Semitism and Islamophobia by proving resources to tackle the massive increase in reported anti-Sikh hate crimes and support a community-led solution to increased reporting so law enforcement agencies are better able to understand and confront the issue”.
The letter also addresses Jagtar’s death penalty in India. “Will you increase efforts to secure the immediate release and return of Jagtar to his family in Scotland in line with UK government pronouncements on the arbitrary detention of British nationals.”