Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi wants Johnson to say sorry for ‘racist remark’

JALANDHAR: First turbaned Sikh MP of UK Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi’s spirited attack on British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s “racist” remarks about Muslim women received rapturous applause from MPs during Johnson’s first Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.
Questioning new UK PM’s comment in an earlier article by him in which he compared Burqa-wearing Muslim women to “letterboxes” and “bank-robbers” , Dhesi asked the PM when he would apologize for his remarks which led to a spike in hate crimes. “Mr Speaker, if I decide to wear a turban, or you decide to wear a cross, or he decides to wear a kippah (a skull cap), or she decides to wear a burqa or hijab, does that mean it’s open season for right honourable members of this House to make derogatory and divisive remarks about our appearance?” Dhesi said, while opening his assault on the PM.
“For those of us, who from a young age have had to face up to and endure being called names, such as towelhead, or Taliban, or coming from bongobongo land, we can appreciate full well the hurt and pain felt by already vulnerable Muslim women, when they are described as looking like bank robbers and letterboxes,” he said.
As the MPs on opposition benches supported his remarks and even voices of “shame shame” emanated, Dhesi said: “Rather than hide behind sham and whitewash investigations, when will the prime minister apologize.... when will he finally order an inquiry into Islamophobia within the Conservative Party, something which he and his chancellor promised on national TV?”
Speaker John Bercow had to put the House in order as Johnson faced interruptions. Johnson defended himself by citing his Muslim ancestory and ties with Sikhs. ‘If the right honourable gentleman took the trouble to read the article in question, he would see it was a strong liberal defence of everybody’s right to wear whatever they want. And I speak as somebody who is not only proud to have Muslim ancestors, but to be related to Sikhs... I am also proud to say this government has the most diverse cabinet in the history of this country,” he said.
He also sought to highlight allegations of anti-Semitism within the Labour party.