Britain's first Sikh turban-wearing Member of Parliament Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi today emphasised on strengthening Indo-UK trade ties in the wake of his country's exit from the European Union.
Stating this, the UK MP said he met Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, and stressed on cementing ties between the two nations.
Dhesi said he also met Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju and requested him to adopt an 'open skies' policy and start direct flights between Amritsar and the UK to benefit trade and tourism.
"I have met all of them and requested that both central and Delhi government should push India-UK trade ties now as 'Brexit' is being implemented. We need support of India's central government as well as the Delhi government. Then we need direct flights between the UK and Amritsar. Currently, the route via Delhi is too long and tiring," said Dhesi.
Dhesi reiterated that he wanted an independent inquiry into the role of then Margaret Thatcher-led UK government for its alleged involvement in 'Operation Bluestar', the 1984 Indian Army action to flush out terrorists from the Golden Temple.
"It is too premature to say if we will demand an apology from UK for it because their role cannot be ascertained just on the basis of some papers getting leaked. It demands an independent and unbiased inquiry to see that to which extent the UK government was involved in it," said Labour Party MP Dhesi.
He said he has also requested Amarinder to speed up probes and trials in cases of NRIs whose lands have been encroached or grabbed.
"They should not be harassed in courts and police stations here," he said.
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