Indian High Commission Write Open Letter after UK MP Tweets on Farmer Protest

On Tuesday, as United Kingdom Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester East Claudia Webbe extended support for the protest of farmers, the Indian High Commission in London wrote an open letter stating that the MP was welcome to express to the High Commission any apprehension of the group she represented.

‘In order to ease the fears of your constituents about the recent path-breaking Indian Farm Laws against which a small portion of the Indian farming community has been protesting, we would have been able to include thorough and precise clarifications,’ said the High Commission.

Claudia Webbe at Twitter previously said, ‘I stand with Indian Farmers #StandWithFarmers #FarmersProtest. ‘

She also provided assistance to climate activist Disha Ravi, who was arrested in the 'toolkit' case in connection with the protest of farmers. ‘Disha Ravi is 21; Nodeep Kaur is 24; a worker and Union leader, a student and environment activist, both women were harassed, detained and imprisoned for nonviolent support of the #FarmersProtest. This repression is motivated by authoritarianism and free-market capitalism. Don't Be Quiet,' tweeted Claudia Webbe.

The letter from the High Commission emphasized that the reforms aimed at protecting and encouraging farmers in India are focused on expert feedback and advice from committees that have studied the unique problems of the agricultural sector in India over the past 20 years.

‘In the Parliament of India, the Farm Acts were properly examined and debated and their advantages began to hit more than 100 million small farmers immediately. Discussions have been conducted with farmers and other stakeholders on their effective execution since the passage of these reforms,’ he said.

The letter also claimed that the information was exchanged with Webbe in order to dispel any misgivings as to the aims of the reform, the right of those with reservations to protest peacefully and the commitment of the Government of India to resolve all issues in a way most appropriate to the protesting farmers' unions.

‘The attempts continue, but the Government of India is more than aware of the efforts of vested interests abroad to intensify the protests through disinformation and incendiary assertions that do not help advance the discussion between the protestors and the government or resolve the problems through the democratic mechanisms historically relied on by our citizens,’ added the letter. 

It further claimed that the farmers involved in the protest rallies were handled by the government and security forces with the highest regard and patience - more than may have been the case elsewhere in the world in comparable circumstances.