‘Duty of host country to protect...’, S Jaishankar on vandalism at Indian High Commission in London
3 min read 25 Mar 2023, 08:04 AM ISTReplying 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.
PremiumExternal Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said that it is the duty of the host country to provide security to high commissions. He further added that as a foreign minister he cannot accept the vandalisation at the Indian high commission in London by pro-Khalistani elements.
"As a foreign minister we are not going to accept this," Jaishankar said in his address at the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) Yuva Samvad programme in Bengaluru on Thursday.
Also Read: India High Commission in London sends a ‘tricolour-ed’ reply to pro-Khalistan vandals
He was asked about his response to the vandalism at Indian High Commission in London, to which the foreign minister said, "Whenever any country sends an embassy abroad, it is the obligation of the receiving country to provide security to the diplomats. It is the obligation of the receiving country to ensure that the embassy or the High Commission's premises are respected."
Jaishankar said, "We have had conversations with the British government."
But as a foreign minister we are not going to accept these acts, he said.
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.
The External Affairs Minister also said that he wanted to share the reasons why today the world is looking at India with a different sense of respect, with a greater sense of partnership and with a desire for closer engagement.
He said, "When Covid first came there was a genuine worry in the world how countries which do not have a strong public health system, a very robust infrastructure, no social safety net, how will such societies cope with Covid. At many high-level conversations, even at a G20 level, often India would be mentioned as a source of worry for the world."
"But when we see who came through it and in what manner I think the world sat up and really took notice of India. In all of this I think the world saw two very big differences in India over the last few years," Jaishankar said.
Jaishankar further said, "One was the fact that we produced vaccines on a scale, with efficiency and with timeliness that the rest of the world really came to admire. Second, we a nation which was always last in the queue waiting for other people to do their stuff and then eventually it would come to us, we actually had not just Made in India vaccines, we had Invented in India vaccines."
BJYM national president and BJP MP Tejasvi Surya was also present on the occasion and moderated the dialogue.
Meanwhile, MEA shared a detailed report on the Pro-Khalistan protest outside the Indian High Commission in London with other agencies. While responding to ANI's question on the MEA's role in FIR registered by Delhi Police in connection with the pro-Khalistani protest outside the Indian High Commission in London on March 19, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, "We have shared incident report with the agencies on what happened outside our High Commission in London earlier this week. And now it is up to the law enforcement agencies to do what they can do and what it has to do."
He added that they will share more information if there's something further. On Friday, the Ministry of Home Affairs asked Delhi Police to take appropriate legal action in the matter.
"On receipt of a report from the Ministry of External Affairs on the incident at Indian High Commission, London on March 19, 2023, the Ministry of Home Affairs asked Delhi Police to take appropriate legal action," said an official statement.
(With inputs from ANI)
