New Delhi: Head of the BJP foreign affairs department Vijay Chauthaiwala feels resignation of British Minister of Indian Origin Priti Patel is a big loss to India.
"Since she was actively participating in diaspora events and was an accessible name in the British cabinet, there are apprehensions over losing a strong “diaspora connect.” Chauthaiwala who is considered a key connection between the BJP and the India diaspora abroad told News 18.com.
“She was a very prominent Indian diaspora face, and her resignation will in a way is a loss.”; Chauthaiwala added.
A senior member of the Theresa May Cabinet, Priti Patel, resigned last week over allegations of secret meetings with Israeli politicians.
Patel was born to Ugandan immigrants of Gujarati origins who left Uganda shortly before President Edi Amin decided on the expulsion of Ugandan Asians, and came to Hertfordshire, England, in the 1960s, kicked up a storm when she held a host of unauthorized meetings with business and political leaders during a family holiday to Israel in August.
Chauthaiwala emphasized that as an institutional mechanism between two the Conservative government in Britain and BJP in India, the resignation will not hamper the relations.
But “from the diaspora connectivity it is not good news,” he added. She was a very accessible person, highest ranking minister from the diaspora and an icon, he said. Patel was used to attend important programs in India like the Pravasi Bharatiya event in Gujarat, and was “very open about her Indian roots,” he added.
In support of Modi before the 2014 general elections in India, Patel lodged a complaint with the BBC alleging bias in national broadcaster's coverage of Narendra Modi, the then chief minister of Gujarat.
In January 2015, Patel was presented with a “Jewels of Gujarat” award in Ahmedabad and she gave a keynote speech at the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce.
Till she resigned, Patel played an important role in the bilateral relationship between UK and India.
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