Angry at Labour's 'anti-India' stance, Indian diaspora campaign for Tories

Upset over the Labour's perceived anti-India stance, especially over Kashmir, many among the Indian diaspora in the UK have begun openly campaigning against the Jeremy Corbyn-led party, and in favour of the ruling Conservatives.

According to reports, the Overseas Friends of Bharatiya Janata Party (OFBJP) in Britain has started campaigning in Hindu temples across Britain against the Labour Party.

Many Hindu groups have also come together to form a united front against the party, which they accuse of having become openly "anti-India, anti-Modi and anti-Hindu".

At a Diwali event in London on Sunday, the Indian community turned their backs on London Mayor Sadiq Khan over what they allege was his tacit backing of Pakistanis who vandalised the Indian High Commission during their protest against New Delhi's Kashmir move.

At the event held in Trafalgar Square, all the Hindus, some with the Indian Tricolour draped around them, turned their backs on the Pakistani-origin Khan, as he was addressing them.

A video doing the rounds on social media shows an Indian origin man at a temple in London campaigning against Corbyn's party.

"We feel completely let down by the Labour party, which we Ahave supported all these years through thick and thin. We fear that it has been taken over by left-wing MPs and ideology under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn. They are already tarnished with being anti-Semitic, anti-India and anti-Modi, and now they are anti-Hindu and anti-Sikhs as well.

"They are supporters of separatist jihadis wanting to cause violence, strife and divisions all over the world, particularly in India. The Indian Hindu and Sikh minority are not safe in the UK anymore," the man is heard saying in his address at a temple.

On September 25, the Labour Party in a conference in Brighton passed a resolution that supported "international intervention in Kashmir and a call for UN led-referendum".

India had dismissed the resolution as "uninformed and unfounded" and aimed at pandering to vote bank interests. India has also refused to engage with the Labour party or its representatives on the Kashmir issue.

The Indian diaspora and mainly the BJP supporters are active on social media, campaigning for the Boris Johnson-led Conservative party in the 48 marginal seats that go to the polls on December 12.

OFBJP UK's President Kuldeep Singh Shekhawa has claimed that British Indians' votes could swing up to 40 seats and affect the election.