Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi got backing of tech billionaire Elon Musk on her opinion in which she objected Britain’s Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the use of the generic term “Asian” with reference to a child sexual abuse scandal across parts of England, largely involving gangs of men of Pakistani origin.
In a post on X, Chaturvedi, political leader of Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, highlighted that the blame for grooming gangs in the UK cannot be laid on Asia, but “one absolute rogue nation” Pakistan.
“Repeat after me, they aren’t ASIAN Grooming Gangs but PAKISTANI grooming gangs. Why should Asians take the fall for one absolute rogue nation?” Chaturvedi said.
Within minutes, Musk reacted to Chaturvedi’s post, calling it “true”.
Meanwhile, Starmer has been facing the brunt for using the term “Asian grooming gangs” with the leaders of British Indians and other South Asian communities accusing him of unfairly implicating diverse Asian ethnicities in crimes predominantly committed by individuals of Pakistani heritage.
The term “Asian grooming gangs” came under scrutiny again after the UK PM used it while defending his record as Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) from 2008 to 2013.
British Indian and Sikh leaders argue that such terminology unfairly stigmatises entire Asian communities, including Indians, Sri Lankans, and others, for crimes predominantly linked to men of Pakistani heritage.
“We are dismayed that PM (Starmer) chose to whitewash this heinous atrocity with the word ‘Asian’,” a report by The Times of India quoted Krishna Bhan, Chair of the Hindu Council UK, as saying.
“Our Hindu and Sikh girls were also victims of these grooming gangs, and using this vague term insults all Asians,” Bhan further said.
Meanwhile, the opposition Conservative Party in the UK, who are commonly referred to as Tories, had called for a new national inquiry into grooming gangs, but earlier today, the motion was rejected by the Starmer-led government and this could now lead to a political tension in the house of commons in Britain.
The Tories introduced the motion to ‘Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill’, which according to the UK government, aims at keeping children safe from exploitation. They demanded a national inquiry into the grooming gangs in the country.
The bill was, however, rejected by all the Labour MPs in the house by a vote of 364 against 111.
Among those who voted for the motion were – 101 Conservatives, five Reform UK MPs, two from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Traditional Unionist Vote’s Jim Allister, United Progressive Party’s Robin Swann, and Independent Alex Easton.
According to a report by news agency Press Association, the bill will now go straight for additional review without having to go through any other formal vote.
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‘True’: Musk endorses MP Priyanka Chaturvedi’s post, ‘not Asian but Pakistani grooming gangs’
