‘Assault on UK Sikh shameful example of hate crime’
Monday, 19/08/2013
http://paper.hindustantimes.com/epaper/viewer.aspx
CHANDIGARH: Terming the attack on an elderly Sikh by a teenaged British girl as yet another shameful example of a hate crime, the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Punjab on Sunday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take up the matter with the UK government at the earliest.
The party, in a statement here, also expressed deep concern over the safety of the Sikh diaspora settled in various parts of the world.
“The attack is unfortunate and horrifying and has shaken the Sikh community the world over,” SAD secretary and spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema said.
“It is yet another shameful example of a hate crime,” he said, adding that it was distressing that the number of such racial attacks on Sikhs settled abroad had increased manifold.
“In spite of this alarming situation, the Centre has not taken up the matter seriously with the authorities concerned,” he said.
The 19-year-old British girl has been arrested on the charge of assaulting the 80-year-old Sikh on August 10 after a video of the incident went viral. The elderly man was punched in the face and shoved to the ground. His turban fell off and the attack left him with a bloodied nose and black eye, British media reports said.
The SAD secretary said when Manmohan Singh became the Prime Minister, there were expectations that he would take up the issue of hate crimes with the governments concerned.
“But practically the reverse has happened,” he said.
Cheema urged the PM and minister of state for external affairs Preneet Kaur to take concrete steps in this regard to mitigate problems of the Sikh diaspora.
SUMMON BRITISH ENVOY: SUKHBIR TO CENTRE
Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on Sunday night said the attack on an elderly Sikh by a British girl had hurt feelings of the community and asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to immediately take up the matter with the UK government.
“The union government should summon the British high commissioner immediately to convey the hurt feelings of the entire Sikh community and the nation over the incident,” he said in a statement here.
