UK House of Commons: Sikh MP accuses India-linked agents for targeting her community leaders

During a House of Commons meeting, British Sikh MP Preet Kaur Gill brought up the subject of agents with connections to India and international repression who target Sikhs living in the United Kingdom.

The shadow minister for primary care and public health questioned Security Minister Tom Tugendhat about the actions taken by the British government to address the issue, claiming that several British Sikhs had been placed on a hit list.

Inquiring about security measures for British Sikh activists, Gill made reference to purported assassination plots against Sikhs overseas during this week’s House of Commons session, without naming anyone.

In recent months, Five Eyes nations have raised concerns about the actions of agents with links to India targeting Sikh activists in the United Kingdom, said Gill on Monday.

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Five Eyes refers to an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

Most disturbingly, there have been alleged assassinations and foiled assassination plots. The US and Canadian authorities have taken the lead at senior levels to publicly call out this challenge to their sovereignty, the rule of law, and their democratic values, said the Labour MP.

Given the reports of British Sikhs facing similar threats, what steps are the Government taking to secure their safety? Will the Minister show the same strength as our partners do in publicly defending their democratic rights, she questioned.

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Tugendhat, in response, during the Home Office questions session in Parliament, said his department is continually assessing the potential threats to individual rights and freedoms and safety across the UK.

Let me be completely clear: if there are any specific threats against any British citizen by any foreign power, we will take immediate action. The Sikh community should be as safe as every other community in the United Kingdom, the minister said.

All British citizens are equal, whatever their colour, creed, faith or political allegiance. The reality is that we have taken all the action we believe is appropriate at this stage. We of course maintain a very close relationship with our Five Eyes partners, and we are absolutely clear that if the situation changes and we need to take action, we will do so, he said.

Last year in September, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that authorities were pursuing credible allegations that Indian government agents were involved in the June 2023 murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, chief of Khalistan Tiger Force and a designated terrorist, on Canadian soil.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) strongly rejected the allegation as absurd and motivated and the issue triggered a major diplomatic row between India and Canada.

Jaishankar said Monday, “We expect the culprits in the attack on our consulate in San Francisco to be brought to book. We expect action against people who stormed into our high commission in London and we expect action against people who threaten our diplomats”.

In November last year, US authorities in New York charged an Indian man allegedly linked to a government official of conspiring to murder US-Canadian citizen Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, also a designated terrorist in India.

The MEA said at the time that the issue was a matter of concern and contrary to government policy.

Preet Kaur Gill was recently in news after UK’s Opposition Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer demoted her over her alleged linked with Khalistan activism in Britain.

Despite being the first British Sikh female member of Parliament in the House of Commons, Gill faced demotion reportedly after many called her out for her links with pro-Khalistani extremists.

Kaur has long been linked to the Khalistan movement with her own father being the leader of Smethwick Gurudwara. The same temple which preet took Keir Starmer too and has a shrine to Khalistani terrorists, including the still UK proscribed terror group - Babbar Khalsa.

With inputs from PTI