UK Parliament to Consider Debate on Farmers' Issue in India as E-petition Attracts Thousands of Signatures British Parliamen...

UK Parliament to Consider Debate on Farmers' Issue in India as E-petition Attracts Thousands of Signatures

British Parliament's Petitions Committee will consider a Westminster Hall debate in the House of Commons complex on the issue of farmers protests and press freedom in India after an online petition attracted over 106,000 signatures. While the list of signatories for the e-petition also reflects a signature of Boris Johnson, in his capacity as a west London Conservative Party member of Parliament, Downing Street on Wednesday categorically denied that the UK Prime Minister had signed the petition.

India has called the remarks by foreign leaders and organisations on protests by farmers as "ill-informed" and "unwarranted", asserting that the matter pertains to the internal affairs of a democratic country. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in New Delhi issued a statement on Wednesday to highlight that the Parliament of India had passed "reformist legislation" for the agricultural sector, which "a very small section of farmers" have some reservations about and therefore the laws have been kept on hold while talks are held.