Indian mission vandalism in UK: Tharoor urges govt to take up with host nations security of Indian missions

PTI, Mar 20, 2023, 3:45 PM IST

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday urged the government to take up the security of Indian missions with host countries to ensure that incidents like the one in the UK, where the tricolour flying atop the Indian High Commission was grabbed at by pro-Khalistani protestors, do not take place.

India on Sunday night summoned the British deputy high commissioner and demanded an explanation over the complete ”absence of security” after videos of pulling down of the Indian flag at the Indian mission in London during a protest by pro-Khalistan elements emerged on social media.

Asked about the incident, Tharoor said, ”I am deeply disappointed when I see that a friendly government does not take elementary police precaution to ensure that this kind of behaviour is not happening.” ”We already have an attack in Australia, now we have had an attack in London…are we going to allow this to happen everywhere. Our government should now go to all the host governments where there is such a possibility –Australia, Canada, the US, the UK and tell them that they must take extra special precautions outside our missions, that is our responsibility to demand it and then it is the diplomatic responsibility of those governments to provide it,” Tharoor told reporters outside Parliament.

The host countries must take necessary measures to ensure that our honour is not insulted in this way, he said.

This is something that is not acceptable to any Indian, Tharoor added.

Top British officials have said that the UK government will take the security of the Indian High Commission here ”seriously”, as they condemned as ”disgraceful” and ”completely unacceptable” the vandalism at the Indian mission by a group of protesters waving separatist Khalistani flags.