"Obligations Weren't Met": S Jaishankar On Protest At Indian Mission In UK

Taking a strong view of pro-Khalistan supporters pulling down the Indian tricolour at the Indian High Commission in the United Kingdom, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday said India would not accept differential standards of security.

He also accused the UK of not meeting the obligation of providing security to the diplomats of the Mission, which is expected of a country where a high commission or a consulate is located.

“On the flag and the security of the high commission, in this particular case in the UK – whenever any country sends an embassy anywhere abroad, it is the obligation of the receiving country to provide security for a diplomat to do his work.

"It is the obligation of the receiving country to ensure the embassy or the high commission or the consulate and their premises are respected. These obligations were not met,” Mr Jaishankar said at an event organised by Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya.

Replying to a question on the issue of threat to the diplomats and the Indian diaspora in the UK, the Minister said that on the day the vandals appeared before the high commission, the security at the high commission failed to meet expected standards.

“Many countries are very casual about it (security). They have a very different view about their own security and a different view about other people's security, but I can tell you as a foreign minister that we are not going to accept this kind of differential standards,” the EAM said.

In the context of Rahul Gandhi's remarks in the UK regarding human rights in India, Mr Jaishankar said though the bulk of those who held Indian passports were deeply attached to the country, there were a small number of people who would claim to be persecuted in their home countries in order to get a visa or residential status.

“Now you have a small number of people (who) sometimes misuse it and say 'I am being politically persecuted and, therefore, allow me to stay'. So, it's actually a visa game, which they are playing in the name of politics, human rights or whatever it is,” the Minister said.

He cautioned that adversaries of the country could misuse the situation.

Nobody was arguing against freedom of speech and civil liberties, he said, "but these should not be misused to espouse radicalism, violence, terrorism".

He also said there was a difference between having rights and misusing them.

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