UK govt confirms PM Boris misheard India question; confused farmer protest with India-Pak

A UK government spokesperson on Thursday clarified that Prime Minister Boris Johnson had "clearly misheard" a question in Parliament when he was asked about farmers' protest in India. The official also said that the United Kingdom Foreign Office is closely following the farmers' agitation in India.

'The PM clearly misheard the question'

The blunder occurred during the weekly Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) session in the House of Commons on Wednesday when Johnson reiterated that any dispute between India and Pakistan was for the two countries to settle bilaterally in response to a question by Opposition Labour MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi about conveying British Sikh anxieties over the ongoing protests against agricultural reforms in India.

A UK government spokesperson said, "The Prime Minister clearly misheard the question in Parliament. The Foreign Office is following the issue of protests in India closely." 

British Sikh Labour MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, who has been vocal about the farmers' agitation, repeated one of his previous Twitter statements on the issue and asked, "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?"

'So disappointed with Johnson's response': British MP

"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 appreciates that point," said Johnson responding to Dhesi. 

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A perplexed Dhesi took to social media immediately to brand Johnson as "absolutely clueless" and was joined by scores of fellow Labour politicians and others in expressing shock at the gaffe.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has refused to be drawn into British politicians' representations seeking UK government intervention in the matter, stating that the police handling of protests is a matter for the government of India.

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Thousands of farmers are currently staying put at Delhi's borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh in protest against the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

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They have expressed apprehension that these laws would pave the way for the dismantling of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) system, leaving them at the "mercy" of big corporations. However, the government has maintained that the new laws will bring farmers better opportunities and usher in new technologies in agriculture. There have been multiple rounds of talks between representatives of the protestors and the government but the logjam continues.

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(With agency inputs)