UK House of Commons slammed for interfering in Goa's affairs
A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member of the Goa legislative assembly today protested a recent British House of Commons motion to debate the damage caused to the environment due to mining in Goa.
BJP legislator Vishnu Surya Wagh told the Goa state legislative assembly today that England should remember that British rule ended in India long ago.
“Let England remember that we are a sovereign country. Why should outsiders interfere in our affairs,” he asked, adding that Britain has no right to interfere in the internal affairs of India.
“If we allow Britain to interfere today, Spain will intervene in tourism tomorrow and America will tell us something else,” Wagh said, during a debate on the general budget on the floor of the house today.
Recently, John McDonnell, a Labour MP from Hayes and Harlington had moved an 'early day motion' in the House of Commons seeking a debate on the damage caused to the environment by mining in Goa and calling upon the British government to urge India to address the issue as a matter of urgency. It was supported by eight other MPs, including Virendra Sharma, a Labour MP from Ealing Southall.
The motion called on the UK government "to urge the Indian government and Goa state government to address as a matter of urgency, an agenda to save the environment by capping the present pace of mining, halting the disposal of the mining rejects, stopping the construction of the mining bypass, closing the 19 mines around the Selaulim Dam and phasing out mining, starting with the immediate closure of all illegal mines and the instigation of an active programme to encourage green and sustainable industries in Goa".
The House of Commons motion also sought applause Goa Foundation and Save Goa Campaign, for highlighting the "immense damage caused to the environment in Goa by numerous, extensive and large-scale mining operations".
