London: Indian-origin Muslims in the UK have come out in criticism of Labour leader Barry Gardiner, MP from Brent North, for inviting Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to speak on "The Future of Modern India" in the British parliament.
However, Gardiner, who is the chairman of Labour Friends of India, said his assessment in inviting Modi to speak in Britain was that "he is a hugely important figure in Indian politics", the Asian Lite newspaper reported.
The Council of Indian Muslims (UK) has said that by extending this invitation, British politicians have committed a "blunder".
"This move will encourage extremism in India, will set a dangerous precedent in British politics and will go down in history as yet another shameful blunder by British politicians - and by the British government if a visa is issued to Modi," Munaf Zeena, chairman of the Council of Indian Muslims (UK), said.
Zeena said the "viciousness and barbarism" that marked the Gujarat riots of 2002 make the riots among the worst human rights violations in recent history.
Over 2,000 people were killed, countless others wounded, and over 150,000 displaced from their homes.
