UK MP condemns racist attack on Sikh guest

Member of Parliament (MP) in United Kingdom (UK) Tanmanjeet S Dhesi on Thursday strongly condemned the alleged racial attack on his guest whose turban was pulled off while standing in a queue outside the British Parliament.

Ravneet Singh, a resident of Punjab, was visiting the Slough MP to discuss his global work in environmental protection.

Singh was queuing outside Portcullis House when the alleged attacker reportedly said "Muslim go home" and tried to remove his turban.

Taking note of the issue, the Slough MP said, "Disgusted that someone filled with hatred tried to pull off turban of one of my guests standing in a queue outside British Parliament on Wednesday night."

"Ravneet Singh from EcoSikh was visiting from India for about three weeks to discuss their work for the environment," he added.

He further said that they have informed the police about the incident and would take action against the culprit after examining the CCTV footage.

"After the attack, they and I spoke with the police, who said they would get the CCTV footage from outside Portcullis House and take action. I felt embarrassed that he would be left with a personal scar from his visit," he added.

The MP said he experienced a similar attack at school and called upon the government to properly monitor and record hate crime against Sikhs.

"It has been pointed out previously on several occasions to the Government that their hate crime action plan totally ignores Sikhs. Given such incidents, the Government needs to address this genuine community demand to properly monitor and record hate crime against Sikhs," he added.

He further said that such incidents harm the victim's self-respect and also show the country in a bad light.

"We need to work together to remove this evil and discrimination from our society," he added.