Indian PM Modi Confronted By Angry Protests in London
Hundreds of noisy protesters greeted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he arrived in London on Wednesday, demonstrating over a rising tide of sexual violence at home, including two particularly brutal rapes.
Holding placards reading “Modi go home” and “We stand against Modi’s agenda of hate and greed,” they gathered outside Downing Street and Parliament as Mr Modi arrived for talks with Prime Minister Theresa May.
Mr Modi later responded at an event in front of thousands of Indians, saying the rape cases were “a matter of great concern”, had brought “a shame” on the country and called for the perpetrators to be outed.
Sexual violence against women is a highly charged political issue in India, where protests regularly erupt about entrenched violence against women and the failure to protect them.
“The Indian government are doing nothing, and you feel sorry for the families because of the total injustice of it all,” said Navindra Singh, an Indian-born lawyer who lives in Britain.
“He has been in power for four years now and there has been no policy change to help protect women and children.”
Protests have erupted across India after the latest rape cases were reported. Police officers and a politician are under investigation in two of the unrelated cases.
Nearly 40 per cent of India’s rape victims are children, and the 40,000 reported rapes in 2016 marked a 60 per cent increase.