Clarion India
NEW DELHI – Well-known Kuwaiti activist and lawyer Majbal Al-Sharika has joined issue with yet another lawmaker of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Subramanian Swamy, and lambasted the Rajya Sabha MP for denigrating the emirate over the recent expat quota Bill that limits the number of Indians to 15 per cent of the population.
A draft expat quota Bill approved by the legal and legislative committee of Kuwait’s National Assembly (Parliament) is likely to force 80,000 Indians to leave the country.
Reacting to this development, the controversial senior BJP leader, notorious for his tongue-lashing, had labelled Kuwait as ‘Namak Haram’ (traitor).
“Kuwait Govt’s Namak Haram. In 1991 in dealing with Kuwait’s plight following Sadaam Hussein invasion and annexation to Iraq, at the request of US, I negotiated on behalf of Chandrashekhar govt to permit US Air Force to refuel in India to help Kuwait,” tweeted Swami.
Kuwait Govt’s Namak Haram. In 1991 in dealing with Kuwait’s plight following Sadaam Hussein invasion and annexation to Iraq, at the request of US, I negotiated on behalf of Chandrashekhar govt to permit US Air Force to refuel in India to help Kuwait.
— Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) July 6, 2020
Enraged by Swamy’s outburst, Kuwaiti lawyer Al-Sharika, who has been speaking out against Hindutva groups on Twitter, said his country would give a fitting reply to the abuses they faced from the BJP leaders. He also recalled the comment of another ruling party MP Tejasvi Surya who had also made lewd comments about Arabian women.
“While receiving Billions of Dollars in remittance and a very brotherly treatment to Indians for decades the current Hindutva rulers chose to abuse us in return. First their MP @Tejasvi_Surya abused our women publicly,now another MP @Swamy39 calls us “Namak Haram”, We’ll respond.” tweeted Al-Sharika.
While receiving Billions of Dollars in remittance and a very brotherly treatment to Indians for decades the current Hindutva rulers chose to abuse us in return. First their MP @Tejasvi_Surya abused our women publicly,now another MP @Swamy39 calls us “Namak Haram”, We’ll respond
— المحامي⚖مجبل الشريكة (@MJALSHRIKA) July 7, 2020
Earlier, Arabian officials and influencers, including Al-Sharika, had taken exception to sexist and abusive comments made by Surya against Arabian women and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take action against him.
Kuwait’s draft Bill is constitutional and will be transferred to the respective committee so that a comprehensive plan is created.
The move comes a month after Kuwait’s prime minister had said that the country’s expatriate population should be reduced from 70 to 30 per cent of the total.
The Indian community constitutes the largest expat community totalling to 1.45 million. Of the 4.3 million population of Kuwait, a small emirate nestled between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, expats account for 3 million.