'India will judge UK authorities by what happens on ground'

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that India has raised the issue of threats to Indian diplomats in London, but it will judge the UK authorities only by what actually happens on the ground.

This pertains to the threats that emerged after posters emerged of a pro-Khalistan rally in London on July 8.

Addressing a briefing here on Thursday, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, "There is a rally on July 8. This violence against our diplomats and inside our diplomatic premises abroad is unacceptable, and we condemn them in the strongest terms".

He later added in the briefing about the rally, "If there are attacks and threats against our diplomats, which is actually there on those posters, we are taking them very seriously and we would expect to see action by those authorities".

Bagchi further said that India will judge the UK authorities only by "what happens on the ground".

"We have seen comments by UK Foreign Secretary, as you are aware, we have had problems with the security of our mission in London. We have taken up the issue of this threat against our diplomats with the UK authorities. We have noted these comments by the UK authorities but we will naturally judge them by what happens on the ground. In the name of freedom of expression, we should not be giving space to those who advocate violence, propagate separatism or legitimise terrorism," Bagchi said.

The rally is being held in the name of Harjit Singh Nijjar aka Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Khalistani terrorist who was killed in a targeted shooting in Canada's Surrey on June 18. The posters contained threats to the Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami and Shashank Vikram, Consul General of India, Birmingham.

Speaking ahead during the briefing about the recent arson attempt at the Indian consulate in San Francisco, the MEA spokesperson said that the matter has been taken up with the US authorities and the Indian authority in touch with US authorities regarding what can be done to ensure the security of the diplomats.

"We have noted posters circulated in other countries, the US particularly. There was an arson attempt by some extremist elements in the Indian consulate in San Francisco. It was quickly brought down by the authorities. We again condemn attacks on our diplomatic premises abroad. We have taken the matter with the US side, and the US authority has responded promptly at very senior levels. The safety and security of our diplomats is at utmost priority for the government," Bagchi said.

He added, "I would not like to talk about the specific security elements. Our missions and consulates, particularly in the US, as well as other places are in touch with the authorities about requisite security measures and steps that we expect can be done to ensure that there are no threats to our diplomats and such incidents of vandalism do not take place, particularly under the guise of freedom of expression".