British Labour Party MP Dhesi questioned at Amritsar airport

Chandigarh, Aug 3 (IANS) British Labour Party MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi was stopped and questioned by the Indian immigration authorities at the airport in Amritsar in Punjab for two hours on Thursday.

The Punjab-origin MP reached Amritsar on an Air India flight from Birmingham.

It is learnt that Dhesi did not have an Overseas Citizen of India card. 

The immigration officials asked him for the documents following which he was questioned at the airport.

During the questioning, he disclosed his status as a Member of Parliament in Britain.

After a delay of approximately two hours, Dhesi managed to complete the required paperwork and was allowed to leave the airport.

Last year in #India I felt the love for speaking up on #FarmersProtest #HumanRights, but today was held back at #Amritsar airport, as haters had called to cancel my visa.

Guess it’s the price to pay for standing up for farmers, the marginalised and minorities like the #Sikhs. pic.twitter.com/hppgjXpNNN

— Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi MP (@TanDhesi) August 3, 2023

Dhesi is known for raising Sikh issues in the UK Parliament. 

He was also vocal over the arrest of labour rights activist Nodeep Kaur over the farmers' agitation, saying the abuse of peaceful protest activists, especially women, is an affront to democracy and civilised society.

During the farmers' agitation over the now three withdrawn agricultural laws, Dhesi had sent a letter, signed by over 100 MPs and Lords, to then UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the farmers' protests, asking him to raise this matter with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi.