Two UK lawmakers Alok Sharma and Rishi Sunak took oath on the Bhagavad Gita while swearing in as members of the parliament in the new House of Commons on Tuesday. Alok Sharma is a minister in the British cabinet, Rishi Sunak is the Chief Secretary to the Treasury.
Alok Sharma, 52, was born in Agra and was elected for the fourth time from Reading West. He is serving as the Secretary of State for International Development since July 2019. Rishi Sunak was born in Southampton, Hampshire and was re-elected the third time from Richmond, Yorkshire. Rishi is the son-in-law of Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy. Both have been politicians from the Conservative Party (UK) for a long time.
The Conservative Party under the leadership of PM Boris Johnson won a sweeping victory in the recently concluded UK elections. Indians naturalized in UK and Indian origin voters were the deciding factor in many constituencies in these elections. Post-poll analysis suggests that Indian origin voters have voted overwhelmingly for the Conservative Party in contrast to the Labour Pary.
With each elections, there have been a steady increase in the number of Indian-origin lawmakers in the UK parliament. The 2019 elections saw a record 15 Indian-origin MPs enter the House of Commons.
The UK election was a thumping defeat for the main opposition Labour party under Jeremy Corbyn, who is seen as a Hinduphobic and appeaser of Muslims. Corbyn had repeatedly commented on India’s internal affairs and had condemned Modi governments move on repealing Article 370 from J&K. The Labour party in one of it’s conference had passed a resolution that supported “international intervention in Kashmir and a call for UN-led referendum”.
Analyst have observed that most Indians who had earlier voted for Labour Party in the previous elections, have chosen the Conservatives this time after Corbyn’s anti-India stand.
