The Conservative Friends of India held a celebration event in a virtual conference on Monday. The High Commissioner of India H.E Ms Gaitri Issar Kumar, the party Chairman the Rt Hon Amanda Milling MP, the Secretary of State for Digital , Culture, Media and Sport the Rt Hon Oliver Dowden, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland the Rt Hon Brandon Lewis MP joined the reception, along with many more guest speakers like Paul Scully MP for Sutton, Lord Tariq Ahmad, Baron Ahmad of Wimbledon, Lord Rami Ranger, CBE and Lord Dolar Popat, Member of the House of Lords. The event was moderated by Cllr Ameet Jogia and Co-chair Reena Ranger.
High Commissioner Gaitri Kumar appreciated the vision and mission of the Conservative party and added, “Our honorable Prime Ministers have a shared vision and enjoy an admirable rapport. During challenging circumstances at the worst period of the pandemic, we have managed to coordinate on AI, medical supplies, pharmaceutical, repatriation of our nationals stranded in both the countries, we managed it rather well. That shows we can operate under difficult circumstances and succeed.”
MP for South West Hertfordshire, Gagan Mohindra seconded the sentiment and said that his Indian upbringing has taught him one thing - if you work hard, you can succeed.
Lord Rami Ranger emphasised the need to have support for the upcoming elections for the position of the Mayor of London, showing the party’s support towards Shaun Bailey. Member of London Assembly and the party's candidate for the forthcoming 2021 London mayoral election, Shaun Bailey said, “I need your help. Here in London, we had a generational opportunity to remove Sadiq Khan. He’s been a terrible Mayor and has not served London, your community or any other community well at all. And we can beat Sadiq Khan if I have your help. Because remember, this election is not just about the city that we live in, it’s about the city our children will inherit. Instead of putting the city and businesses back on their feet, the Mayor is talking about another lockdown.” “A leader who is afraid of leading, cannot be trusted,” he added.
MP and Executive Secretary, Bob Blackman expressed excitement about the upcoming festival of Navratri and he said he’ll miss Dandiya Raas, but hopes to see fireworks on Diwali. He also stated that the matter of India’s border dispute is an internal matter for India and the UK has no business intervening in bilateral talks. However, it is willing to offer assistance if needed. Blackman also said, “As a result of this pandemic, India’s first gift to the world was yoga and we've incorporated yoga into our national health service, getting fitter and better as a result. We also learnt that actually shaking hands is a very dangerous thing during this pandemic so now we have the greeting from India to express peace, harmony and tranquility in a safe environment.”
