UK leader’s visit to British gurdwara sparks row

Special to The Tribune
Shyam Bhatia In London

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Labour Party leader Ed Milliband’s bid to win support of British Sikhs in the run-up to the next month’s General Election has sparked controversy among rival members of the community.

The controversy centres around the circumstances of Milliband’s visit earlier this week to the prestigious Leamington and Warwick Gurdwara in the heart of the Midlands that serves a core community of 4,000 Sikhs.

Although Milliband’s personal behaviour was faultless – he took off his shoes and covered his head with a scarf during the visit – questions are now being asked why some members of the national media were allegedly prevented from entering the premises.

Television news footage shows the gurdwara’s doors being shut shortly after Milliband entered it, supporting claims that the Labour leader’s advisers banned some members of the national media from fully covering the event.

Sikhs say closing the gurdwara goes against the tenets of their faith that the house and worship of God is open to one and all.

Davinder Singh of the UK-based Sikh Federation was quoted as saying, “The whole thing was very carefully stage-managed. They said there would be no cameras whatsoever, they were telling people not to even use their phones to take any pictures there, which is unheard of inside a gurdwara. Some of the party officials were downrightly rude. My children were ushered out of the way….the whole thing did not feel right.

“The Labour Party told the media it was a private visit, but that’s nonsense. Was he going there for prayers? Of course not, it was part of a campaign.”

But gurdwara officials take a different view by insisting that the visit went well. Gurdwara secretary Shalbinder Singh Malle was quoted in the national media as saying: “It went smoothly and we felt it was a success. We were told not to take pictures and one or two persons may have been disappointed, but I wouldn’t say anyone was upset or offended by it. No one complained.”

Labour Party officials have also flatly contradicted the negative publicity, saying Milliband is being penalised because a few of those present did not like the answers to their questions. The officials insist cameras, telephones and the national media were not banned from the gurdwara. One Labour Party official commented, “Out of respect to the worshippers, he did not have his picture taken inside the prayer hall, that’s all.”

A Labour Party spokesperson told The Tribune: “It is ridiculous and untrue to say that Ed Miliband did not want to be pictured at the gurdwara. The visit to Leamington Gurdwara was widely covered by the national and the Sikh press. Many worshippers took pictures with Ed Miliband there. In order to respect worshippers inside the prayer hall, Ed Miliband gave press interviews, including an interview with the Sikh Federation, outside the temple.”