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UK in protests over Kathua-Unnao rape cases, PM Modi in London today

The Kathua-Unnao rape cases had shocked the nation; particularly the Kathua rape case where an 8-year old was brutally raped and murdered.

Candlelight vigils and protest have been held by various citizens, demanding justice for the victims.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to face the heat of people’s anger over the rape cases in Kathua and Unnao during his visit to the United Kingdom as well. There is huge uproar over the cases and other issues among the Indian diaspora and South Asia community in the UK, who are planning a huge protest on April 18 outside Downing Street, London.

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The protest is organized under a poster-banner stating ‘Modi Not Welcome’, by South Asia Solidarity Group, Castewatch UK, and British Women Organisations. On April 18, more than 50 women activists and academics plan to issue a letter opposing the alleged “rape culture” and “protection of rapists” under the Modi government.

“On the one hand, Modi talks about bringing people together… but on the other hand his cohorts, RSS stormtroopers, continue to brazenly defy the law, unleashing violence on Dalits and religious minorities,” said a representative of CasteWatchUK.

READ ALSO: See how Mallika Sherawat expressed disgust over Kathua rape case

Around 2,000 people from all over the UK are expected to gather outside Downing Street, where PM Modi will meet British PM Theresa May. They will include Kashmiris, Sikh organizations, Tamilians and many feminists who are shocked by the horrifying rapes in Kathua and Unnao. The spokesperson for South Asia Solidarity Group said: “We are protesting everything Modi represents as an avowed fascist, as a protector of rapists, as someone who has presided over mob lynching of Muslims and Dalits, as someone who has presided over the assassination of dissenters like Gauri Lankesh.”

A separate silent protest — with participants encouraged to wear white in solidarity — organized by a group of women will take place on Parliament Square on Wednesday afternoon to express “pain, sorrow, shock” and condemnation of the rapes in Kathua and Unnao, and beyond.

READ ALSO:  Prime Minister Narendra Modi receives open letter on Kathua Unnao rape cases

Bharat ki Baat

Around 1,700 people are expected to attend the ‘Bharat ki Baat’ event in central London the same afternoon in which the Prime Minister will answer questions from the floor as well as collated from online submissions and broadcast live.

However, others who are not protesting, but hoping to raise the issue of the rapes and violence against women, say that they have been subject to abuse and intimidation. A spokesperson for the National Indian Students and Alumni Union U.K. said that after the union and over 20 of India societies from across U.K. signed a letter urging Mr. Modi to initiate “immediate proceedings” in the Kathua and Unnao cases, they had been pressured to withdraw their support.

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The spokesperson pointed out that the group was being harassed simply for raising an issue and asking questions; they have submitted a question on the issue to ‘Bharat Ki Baat’, which has courted questions from the public.

“We are not against the Prime Minister, quite the contrary: we are welcoming him…we are exercising our democratic right to send in a question. What we are seeing with the backlash is that young Indian voices have been consistently suppressed for politically motivated ends at either end of the political spectrum, in an attempt to divert attention from real issues.”

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