Recent Violence in India Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Alicia Kearns
Main Page: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)Department Debates - View all Alicia Kearns's debates with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
(4 years, 1 month ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
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Nigel Adams
The hon. Member raises a very good point. Any allegation of human rights abuses is deeply disturbing, and the violence that we saw was incredibly concerning. I assure the House that we have made it clear that those incidents must be investigated thoroughly, promptly and transparently.
Alicia Kearns (Rutland and Melton) (Con)
The fact that the Indian Government have felt able to pass this law and some of the responses that we have seen to it are deeply distressing. Will my hon. Friend not only confirm that he will continue to raise this at the highest level but make a commitment that Foreign Office staff will now start planning how we can act to raise the pressure on this issue before there is any further escalation, rather than reacting in response to it?
Nigel Adams
I know that my hon. Friend has great experience of foreign affairs, having worked in the Department, and she raises a very good and crucial point. Because we have that close relationship with India through our officials and at a ministerial level, we can have that dialogue. She makes a very sensible point about being pre-emptive rather than reactive.