Priti Patel’s exit won’t affect Indian influence in Britain

November 2017 \ Diaspora News \ DIASPORA

Priti Patel’s exit won’t affect Indian influence in Britain

It was shocking news for the Indian community in Britain. The most influential British-Indian politician was ousted from the Government

By Anasudhin Azeez

Her departure won’t affect India’s influence in the power corridors, because the post-Brexit Britain needs India more than India needs Britain. Patel was hiding behind the Ministerial Code of Ethics when India was humiliated by pro-Pakistani Members of Parliament over the Kashmir issue.

She never supported repeated calls from Indian leaders to relax visa rules for Indian students. Patel even campaigned to tighten the visa rules for foreign chefs at curry houses. That caused the closure of hundreds of restaurants across the country.

Without backing from any senior leaders, Patel’s fate was sealed when the first report exposed her unscheduled meeting with Israeli leaders. The first justification from her was that it was a private holiday and some private meetings

She was silent when hundreds of immigrants were racially abused on the streets just after the EU referendum. Who cares about immigrants when they are not part of your constituency? With a majority of 27,000 plus votes, Patel was quite comfortable with her agenda.

She burned all her bridges to fulfill a personal agenda to reach No. 10. India was on the back burner whereas Israel and its powerful lobby with plenty of money at its disposal came on the agenda. Indians are top on the British rich list, but they will think twice to open their cheque book. Some of them are already in trouble over political donations for personal favours.