Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said on Tuesday that the deportation of British MP Debbie Abrahams was necessary as she is a Pakistan proxy.
“The deportation of Debbie Abrahams by India was indeed necessary, as she is not just an MP, but a Pak proxy known for her clasp with Pak govt and ISI. Every attempt that tries to attack India’s sovereignty must be thwarted,” Singhvi said on Twitter.
The deportation of Debbie Abrahams by India was indeed necessary, as she is not just an MP, but a Pak proxy known for her clasp with e Pak govt and ISI. Every attempt that tries to attack India's sovereignty must be thwarted.#Kashmir#DebbieAbrahams
— Abhishek Singhvi (@DrAMSinghvi) February 18, 2020
This comes a day after a tweet from fellow Congress leader Shashi Tharoor who had opposed the government’s move to stop Abraham at the airport. “If things are fine in #Kashmir, shouldn’t the Govt encourage critics to witness the situation themselves to put their fears to rest? Instead of conducting tours for pliant MEPs &polite Ambassadors alone, surely the head of a ParliamentaryGroup on the subject is worth cultivating?” Tharoor had said on Twitter on Monday.
Abrahams, who chairs a parliamentary group on Kashmir, was denied entry into India on arrival at the New Delhi airport on Monday, with officials saying she had been informed in advance of her e-visa’s cancellation.
Abrahams, the Labour Party MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth since 2011 and chair of the all-party parliamentary group for Kashmir from 2018, and her aide Harpreet Uppal arrived at the airport in an Emirates flight from Dubai at 9 am.
A statement issued on her behalf said Abrahams, 59, was told by immigration officials her e-visa, issued last October and valid till October 2020, had been rejected. She said the officials didn’t cite any reasons for denying her entry.
An official of the home ministry, who asked not to be named, said Abrahams’ e-visa “was cancelled and she was informed regarding the decision in advance”. He added that “she didn’t have the visa when she landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport.”
Abrahams was put on a return flight to the UK in the afternoon. Responding to reports she didn’t possess a valid visa, she tweeted: “I’m sorry but that just is not the reality.”
She intended to make a personal visit to New Delhi to meet Indian relatives before travelling to Pakistan for a three-day official visit as a member of the all party parliamentary group for Kashmir. Abrahams told the UK media she “wouldn’t be surprised” if the denial of entry was linked with her work with the group.
She has been critical of the Indian government’s decision to revoke Jammu & Kashmir’s special status last August. In a petition, she called on the UK government to use all diplomatic and economic measures at its disposal to exert influence on India to “recognise that Kashmiri people must be at the heart of any changes to constitutional arrangements in the region”.
