Rahul's UK events target of right-wing PIO outfits

LONDON: Ahead of Rahul Gandhi's forthcoming visit to the UK, organisers of his engagements here are alleging that a plan by right-wing PIO (Persons of Indian Origin) groups could be afoot to disrupt two of Congress chief's engagements.

Sanam Arora, founder and chairperson of the National Indian Students & Alumni Union (NISAU) UK, which is co-organising the LSE event, said: "We have been notified that some people are apparently planning such anti-India activities and we are appalled if this is true. The event is oversubscribed and the young NRI community is really looking forward to listening to Mr Gandhi. As with all our events appropriate security arrangements are in place." But she said no one was barred from attending as the point of the event was to engage in a healthy discussion about India and she welcomed people.

Kamalpreet Dhaliwal, president of Indian Overseas Congress (IOC) UK, said: "I am not in any of these WhatsApp groups but I have heard it from people. We will be doing body and bag searches at the Ruislip hotel and we have two security firms and police deployed. We have huge security so I am not concerned. Nevertheless it's wrong."

NISAU has double screened the guest list and is working with student societies they already work with, TOI has learnt. There will be high security and no bags are allowed inside.

According to sources close to organisers, members of various WhatsApp groups have discussed throwing eggs, popcorn and tomatoes at him and heckling him when he gives a talk at the London School of Economics (LSE) on Friday and at a public event at a hotel in South Ruislip on Saturday.

"People in various right-wing community WhatsApp groups are saying they will attend those two public events to sabotage them," one of them said.

Other sources TOI has spoken, claimed to have seen screenshots from these groups. One of the behind-the-scenes people helping organise Gandhi's trip said: "There are people targeting the entire visit because it is the first time Rahul Gandhi is visiting the UK so there is a desire to ruin the trip. I have seen messages, they want to disrupt these public events and not let him address the audience properly. In some messages they have said, 'Let's get as many tickets as we can and disrupt it. Let's make a comedy show out of it.'"

The Congress president, who lands in the UK on Thursday, will be in conversation with Mukulika Banerjee, director of the LSE South Asia Centre, on Friday evening. This will be followed by a Q&A with the audience of PIO students and academics whilst on Saturday he will address the diaspora at the Ruislip hotel. More than 1,100 PIOs, as well as councillors and mayors, will attend.

An LSE spokesperson said, "LSE is a host for hundreds of public events each year with a range of speakers, many of them high-profile. For some high-profile events we put in place security arrangements to help protect free speech, ensuring guests and the LSE community have a chance to listen to — and question — the speaker."

It has also emerged that when Conservative Friends of India (CFI) had been hosting Gandhi at Parliament — which they are no longer doing — some of the recipients of the invites (donors, MPs, business people) had contacted a Congress supporter raising "concerns BJP supporters might infiltrate the event in Parliament and ask difficult questions".

"Many of the guests contacted me saying they were uncomfortable and were worried it was going to get sabotaged. No one knew who the invites had gone out to. Guests were worried that we were in effect putting on an event with BJP sympathisers," the supporter said.

"Some of the CFI organisers were close to BJP or had funded BJP UK events in the past so I was worried this had become another opportunity by the opposition to sabotage our events maybe by inviting people who would ask uncomfortable questions or be hostile in terms of the crowd. Labour MPs also raised their discomfort with me about it being a Conservative event," he said

The supporter immediately raised this with the IOC and suggested the event become apolitical. It is now being run by the IOC after the CFI suddenly pulled out saying booking a room had been problematic.