British MP denied entry into India on arrival

India has denied entry to a member of United Kingdom’s House of Lords as he was about to canvass in New Delhi in favour of jailed opposition leader of Bangladesh, Khaleda Zia.

New Delhi acted on a request from Dhaka and barred Lord Alexander Carlile from entering India as he was about to hold a news conference here arguing in favour of Bangladesh National Party chief, who was sent to jail on February 8 after a court in the neighbouring country convicted her of embezzling fund donated for an orphanage trust.

Carlile is a barrister and he has been engaged by the BNP to advise the lawyers of Khaleda. His visit to New Delhi was apparently aimed at drumming up support for Khaleda and her BNP ahead of the parliamentary polls in Bangladesh. He was scheduled to address a news conference at Foreign Correspondents’ Club in New Delhi on Wednesday – apparently in a bid to reach out to international media and project the case against the BNP chief as a political conspiracy hatched by ruling Awami League Government in Bangladesh, led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

New Delhi, however, officially maintained that Carlile had been denied entry as he had not obtained appropriate visa before landing at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here late on Wednesday.

“His (Carlile’s) intended activity in India was incompatible with the purpose of his visit as mentioned in his visa application. It was therefore decided to deny him entry into India upon arrival,” Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said.