Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, (C), accompanied by Labour MP for Doncaster North... Read More

NEW DELHI: In what could be a snub for Labour ideologue-leader Jeremy Corbyn , the British Labour party has officially walked back from its stand on Kashmir which resulted in many Britons of Indian origin shifting their vote to the Conservative party.

Ian Lavery, president of the Labour Party issued a letter where he expressed contrition at the motion which criticised India for abrogation of Art 370 in Kashmir. Lavery stepped in to reassure Hindus that the party is “fully aware of the sensitivities that exist over the situation in Kashmir”. “We recognise that the language used in the emergency motion has caused offence in some sections of the Indian diaspora, and in India itself,” he said in a statement.

He said the party’s official position was that “Kashmir is a bilateral matter for India and Pakistan to resolve together by means of a peaceful solution which protects the human rights of the Kashmiri people and respects their right to have a say in their own future”. He added Labour was “opposed to external interference in the political affairs of any other country” — and would “not adopt any anti-India or anti-Pakistan position over Kashmir”.

The statement came after some Indian and Hindu groups started a campaign to move Indian votes from Labour to Conservative describing the Labour Party as “anti-India”. At the Labour Party conference in September, they had said in a resolution, “Accept that Kashmir is a disputed territory and the people of Kashmir should be given the right of self-determination in accordance with UN resolutions.”

