"Hit nail on head": Digvijaya Singh on British PM Sunak’s remark on extremism

Sep 08, 2023

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], September 8 : Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister and veteran Congress leader, Digvijaya Singh, on Friday said he agreed with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that no "form of extremism or violence is acceptable" for any country.
Speaking to ANI on Friday, the Congress leader said, "He hit the nail on the head. Extremism should not be allowed and tolerated in any country. Whatever he said is absolutely right."
The Congress, as well as other parties in the Opposition, have hit out at the BJP-led central government over the alleged rise in right-wing extremism in the country.
To a question on the protest by pro-Khalistan elements outside the British High Commission in London earlier this year, the British PM said no form of extremism or violence is acceptable in his country.
Sunak arrived at Delhi's Palam airbase earlier on Friday to attend the G20 summit.
The summit, being hosted in the national capital under India's presidency of the G20, will get underway on Saturday.
The British PM said his government was working closely with the Indian government to tackle pro-Khalistan extremism, adding that it would not be tolerated.
In an exclusive interview with ANI, Sunak also spoke about his sense of pride in his Indian roots and the FTA negotiations between the two countries.
Answering a question about concerns in India about activities of pro-Khalistani elements in Britain, the UK Prime Minster said the two countries have working groups to share intelligence and information so that this kind of violent extremism can be rooted out.
"It's a really important question and let me just say unequivocally that no form of extremism or violence like that is acceptable in the UK. And that's why we are working very closely with the Indian government to particularly tackle 'PKE' Pro-Khalistan Extremism,” Sunak told ANI.
“I don't think it's right. Our security Minister recently was just in India talking to his counterparts. We have working groups together to share intelligence and information so that we can root out this kind of violent extremism. It's not right and I won't tolerate it in the UK," he added.
The National Investigation Agency is probing the attack on Indian High Commission in London by pro-Khalistan elements in March this year.
The anti-terror agency has registered a First Information Report (FIR) based on the orders of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and began its probe into the incident in which the Tricolour at the Indian high commission in London was pulled down.
India had lodged strong protest with the UK over the incident.Rishi Sunak reached India earlier in the day to take part in the G20 Summit being held in New Delhi on September 9 and 10. He is accompanied by his wife Akshata Murty.