UK lawmaker Debbie Abrahams ran sustained anti-India campaign: MEA

MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that the British lawmaker Debbie Abrahams, who was denied entry to India and deported to Dubai, has run a sustained campaign against India. Abrahams claimed she was travelling on a valid e-visa to India to visit family and friends but her visa was revoked without explanation.

New Delhi: British lawmaker Debbie Abrahams, who was denied entry to India and deported to Dubai, has run a sustained campaign against India, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday.

Abrahams, who is an Opposition Labour Party MP and Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Kashmir, claimed she was travelling on a valid e-visa to India to visit family and friends but her visa was revoked without explanation.

MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said Abrahams did not have a valid visa when she arrived at the IGI Airport here on Monday.

"When she was coming to India, she did not have a valid visa. She came here without a valid visa and with all respect she was sent back. We believe that her views and statements are anti-India," Kumar said at a briefing when asked about her statements in favour of Pakistan.

There has been a sustained campaign from her side against India, he said.

Kumar said Abrahams claimed that she was here to meet family and friends, but even if her visa had been valid it was an e-Business visa.

"Even if we presume that she had a visa, that was issued for a business ETA and business ETA cannot be used for a primary purpose of meeting family and friends," he said.

Abrahams, who has been a vocal critic of the Indian government's abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, posted what looks like an e-visa document on Twitter to show that she had a visa issued on October 7 last year, which was valid until October 5, 2020.

However, government sources had said Abrahams' e-Business visa was revoked as she was involved in anti-India activities, and the cancellation was conveyed to her on February 14.

PTI report