Bob Blackman, MP for Harrow East has been criticised by his council for his decision to host a Hindu nationalist in Parliament.
It is said that Harrow Council condemned the MP's decision to invite Tapan Ghosh at the 'Tolerating the Intolerant' event in the House of Commons.
Tapan Ghosh has allegedly previously called to the United Nation to control the birth rate of Muslims, while allegedly praising the genocide of Rohingya in Bangladesh. It is also alleged that Ghosh referred to all Muslims as “jihadis” and warned that Europe would be taken over by Islam.
In a meeting, it was suggested that the council chief executive should, “write to Bob Blackman, condemning the visit of Tapan Ghosh and reaffirming that Harrow is one of the most diverse places in the UK, where hate speech is not tolerated”.
Bob Blackman MP, who also chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group of Hindus, expressed in an interview how the event focused on the “forced conversions” of girls in the subcontinent, as well as in the UK.
In a statement, Bob BlackMan MP hit back at the council saying, “If the Labour Councillors and their allies in Harrow spent half as much time actually doing the job of delivering the effective service that residents deserve as they do on politically posturing, the number of people having to come to me for help would reduce dramatically. I understand that at least one Councillor may have made false and inflammatory statements against me of a toxic nature. Before they attack others, they need to look at the antisemitism and religious intolerance that thrives in the Labour Party.”
The MP hit back at the council saying, “If the Labour Councillors and their allies in Harrow spent half as much time actually doing the job of delivering the effective service that residents deserve as they do on politically posturing, the number of people having to come to me for help would reduce dramatically.”
Asian voice asked many dignitaries about their opinion, to which Lord Desai replied, “Bob Blackman can look after himself. There is freedom of speech.”
Cllr. Sachin Shah, Leader of Harrow Council and Queensbury Ward Councillor shared with us, “One of the things that makes me proud to be the Leader of Harrow Council is our good community cohesion. People of different faiths live side by side with no problems. Bob Blackman should be ashamed that he brought someone to Parliament who wants to divide Harrow's communities. All politicians should make it their top priority to find ways to bring communities together, not pull them apart. Bob Blackman should now do the right thing, simply say sorry, and we can all move on.”
The President of the Hindu Forum Britain (HFB), Trupti Patel shared, “The HFB fully support Mr Bob Blackman MP as a chair of the APPG Hindu and his statement related to the resolution of the London Borough of Harrow. He has taken up various issues of his constituents and spoke against injustice to Kashmiri Pandit and divisive politics like the Caste Bill in the UK.”
The Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow, Navin Shah AM stated, “Mr Blackman's feeble attempt to escape just criticism is pathetic. He's blown his opportunity to explain how he managed to give a platform to the hate preacher Tapan Ghosh. To make matters worse he's not even had the decency to apologise for bringing Parliaments and Harrow's reputation into disrepute. He's been allowed long enough to conduct his divisive and sectarian practices in Harrow. Mr Blackman is no friend of our diverse communities in Harrow. Harrow deserves better and the time has come to bid good riddance to Mr Blackman and have a representative in Harrow East who is respectful and fair to all our communities in Harrow East.”
Gareth Thomas, MP for Harrow West also shared, "Tapan Ghosh has praised the horrendous violence against the Rohingya in Burma, and has called on the UN to control the birth rate of Muslims. Before attending this event in Parliament, Ghosh met with Tommy Robinson, former leader of the English Defence League. The views expressed by Ghosh are unacceptable and should be condemned, not given a platform in Parliament. I hope Bob Blackman is reflecting on how he can properly represent all of the diverse communities in Harrow, instead of playing divisive politics by hosting unacceptable extremists.”
Asian Voice tried to get in touch with Bob Blackman but he was unavailable.
