NRI candidate in UK row over anti-Islamic diatribe
NRI candidate in UK row over anti-Islamic diatribe
Abhijit Pandya, the Indian-origin candidate for Leicester South by-election, and a leading local newspaper have clashed in the open after he was criticised in an editorial for calling Islam 'morally flawed and degenerate' in his blog.
Pandya, 31, is the candidate for the UK Independence Party (UKIP), a party that is opposed to Britain's membership of the European Union. In 2010, the party polled 3.1 per cent of the votes, did not win any seat but was the fourth largest party in terms of the popular vote.
The by-election is scheduled for today, along with elections to local councils and a referendum on Britain's voting system.
Leicester Mercury, the local newspaper, flayed Pandya for his remarks in an editorial titled 'UKIP shows itself as silly and nasty'.
The editorial said: "It is not our normal practice, as a politically neutral newspaper, to criticise an individual party during an election campaign, but we will make an exception with UKIP.
".....Leicester South hopeful Abhijit Pandya has said the anti-Islamic diatribe published on his blog was an attempt to highlight issues regarding integration and employment 'which we should not shy away from discussing'."
The editorial went on to say: "Really? To us it seemed like a wildly inflammatory rant which boiled down to a crass and nasty characterisation of Muslims as lazy, intolerant spongers who are a threat to the British way of life. It was not part of a reasoned debate about multiculturalism, but a series of sweeping, unsubstantiated generalisations which demonise the Muslim community".
".....Leicester South hopeful Abhijit Pandya has said the anti-Islamic diatribe published on his blog was an attempt to highlight issues regarding integration and employment 'which we should not shy away from discussing'."
The editorial went on to say: "Really? To us it seemed like a wildly inflammatory rant which boiled down to a crass and nasty characterisation of Muslims as lazy, intolerant spongers who are a threat to the British way of life. It was not part of a reasoned debate about multiculturalism, but a series of sweeping, unsubstantiated generalisations which demonise the Muslim community".
Nothing new about Indians being anti-Islam.

