Asserting that ‘‘an assault on one democracy is attack on all,’’ a prominent Labour Party MP has tabled an Early Day Motion in the British parliament to express grief over the Saturday’s bomb blasts in Delhi.‘‘This House offers its deepest sympathy and sincere condolences to the relatives and friends of those slain in the brutal and indiscriminate terrorist outrages perpetrated in Delhi on 29th October,’’ the motion tabled by Stephen Pound, the chairman of the Labour Friends of India, said.The motion ‘‘proposes swift and effective response of local and national agencies, recognizes strength and resilience of the Indian people and notes that an assault on one democracy is an attack on all’’.‘‘My parliamentary colleagues and I received many messages of support when London was attacked in July this year, and a lot of these came as emails from people in India who stood by us in our hour of need,’’ Pound said in a statement today.He said it is time to reciprocate and stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of India. ‘‘We grieve for those who have perished in this episode of violence and renew our commitment to rid this world of the scourge of terrorism’’.The underlying strength of this relationship is the relationship between people of India and Britain. ‘‘As British parliamentarians, we offer our deepest sympathy and condolences to the relatives and friends of those slain on the 29th on behalf of British people,’’ he said.Early Day Motions on important issues are accepted without discussion by the House of Commons. In the past few years, London and Delhi have come closer with the efforts of the labour Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone and the Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit, committing to engage to bring prosperity to the people of both cities, Pound said.He cited numerous examples of Labour Friends of India’s success in steering opinion in the British Parliament at critical junctures, such as the Parliament attack, the Mumbai blasts, attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, cross-border terrorism, hijacking of the Indian Airlines flight or even on issues concerning trade like outsourcing.‘‘We have a track record in parliament and with over 160 British parliamentarians and several cabinet colleagues as members who have all signed up to our charter to strengthen linkage between our democracies, parliaments and peoples. It is only correct for us to affirm in this spirit of partnership that an attack on the world’s largest democracy is an attack on all democracies,’’ he added. PTI
