Farmers protest

Late last month, Singh condemned a convoy of truckers and others travelling to Ottawa to protest a federal rule requiring that all cross-border drivers be vaccinated against Covid-19, CBC News reported. Singh said some of the people behind the demonstration are pushing "false information" through "inflammatory, divisive and hateful comments".

The march would begin from Multan on February 14, the body announced on Saturday. Kissan Ittehad Chairman Khalid Mehmood Khokhar said that several marches would be staged across the country in February, and they would eventually converge in Multan to proceed towards Lahore and Islamabad. The larger march would arrive in Islamabad in the last week of February, he said.

The farm laws were not the only reform measures being pursued aggressively by the government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has staked a lot of political capital on two more reform measures, among many others. The first relates to changes in the antiquated labour laws that have been benefiting only a privileged few while depriving the vast majority of workers (about 90 per cent of the workers according to reliable estimates) of any benefits.

The letter seeks to ensure that the UK Prime Minister reaffirms the importance of the right to peaceful protest internationally, has a full understanding of this important issue and asks him to raise this matter with the Indian Prime Minister, following the cancellation of their meeting in India, planned later this month.