Lord Carlile spits venom for UK return from Delhi
Accuses Bangladesh government of putting intolerable political pressure on India to refuse him entry
India is supposedly a democratic country though my confidence in that has been wounded in the past 24 hours - LORD ALEXANDER CARLILE London-based legar advisor
Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Begum Khalida Zia’s London-based legal advisor, Lord Alexander Carlile was spitting fire on Thursday over having to return to London from Delhi following cancellation of his visa. The 70-year-old Parliamentarian accused the Bangladesh government for putting intolerable political pressure on India to refuse him entry.
Throwing all courtesy to the winds, Lord Carlile remarked, “Supinely, supinely, the Indian government did that and they ought to be ashamed of denying a British QC, a member of the House of Lords entry into India for legitimate reasons. That is why I am not with you today.”
At a 23-minute audio conference from his London home, Lord Carlile told mediapersons, “India is supposedly a democratic country though my confidence in that has been wounded in the past 24 hours.
I was coming as a lawyer to do what I am entitled to do as a lawyer who is involved as a counsel in a case in which the country in which the accused person is held and is being subjected to abominable justice.”
Lord Carlyle said, “The Indian authorities have given me no true reasons for revoking my visa. The staff at the Delhi airport was very polite but they could not give me any reasons because the Indian government had him any reason. The Indian government knew perfectly well before I travelled why I was coming because the Press conference was arranged. I chose Delhi as the second place and I have been trying to go to Dhaka for several weeks. In a few days time, I will hold a Press conference in London. The only way I represent my client is by speaking out. I am no longer able to use the conventional ways in which a lawyer can represent his client. It has become clear to me that the whole case is politically motivated.
When I embarked for India at Heathrow airport yesterday, my visa was checked through the automatic system on two occasions. When I arrived in Delhi later and switched my phone on, I was told that my visa had been revoked.”
He claimed that the Indian authorities gave him no true reasons for revoking his visa. Lord Carlile that he spoke to the British Deputy High Commissioner who advised him that nothing was going to change.
In a three page statement circulated to the media, Lord Carlile has voiced alarm about the control of the judiciary by the government of Bangladesh in various forms.
At the weekly Press briefing, the MEA Spokesperson, Ravish Kumar took half a dozen questions on Lord Carlile’s visa revocation said that he was aware of Lord Carlile statement. Mr Kumar hit back at Lord Carlile’s claims saying that he misrepresented the reasons of visit in his visa application and had a word of advise for him as well.
“It is absolutely critical that anybody visiting India or any other country must respect the law of the land. If somebody is coming with a return boarding pass of a flight which is going to take off two hours from the time his flight landed, it is very clear that he was aware. We had sent an intimation to him. Normally, you apply for an e visa, you get intimation that you have got a visa. You use that visa to board. In case something amiss is pointed out or is detected, the immigration authorities are well within their powers to revoke the e visa.
Defending the government’s decision, Mr Kumar said, “We should understand that the right to grant visa is the sole prerogative of the country. The motive of his visit was clear from the very beginning. The one thing I can figure out is that he was trying to create some kind of misunderstanding between India and Bangladesh and also to create some kind of misunderstanding between India and the Opposition parties in Bangladesh. We should understand that the right to grant visa is the sole prerogative of any country. You can’t claim that since you have applied for a visa, you should get it? Does a business visa constitute coming here and having a Press conference.”
In a statement issued on Wednesday midnight, the MEA said, “Lord Alexander Carlile, a British national, arrived in New Delhi on July 11, 2018 without having obtained the appropriate Indian visa. His intended activity in India was incompatible with the purpose of his visit as mentioned in his visa application. It was therefore decided to deny him entry into India upon arrival.”