UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson had a tough time on Wednesday, on the election campaign trail, when a British Sikh woman admonished him for talking about whisky during a stop at a gurdwara in the city of Bristol.
Johnson, whose wife is of Sikh origin, was forced to apologise for raising the issue of high tariffs on Scotch whisky imports into India, which could be brought down if a free trade deal is struck between India and the UK post-Brexit.
"He was simply making a point that a free trade deal with, for example, India could be huge for both sides," said a spokesperson for the senior Cabinet minister.
"He pointed out that in India, billions of litres of whisky are consumed every year, but there is a 120 percent (customs duty) on imports of Scotch whisky, and wouldn't it be great if we could have free trade.”
As the former mayor was giving his address on the proposed free trade deal, he was interrupted by a British Sikh woman, locally known as Balbir Kaur.
I wouldn’t be wanting to put somebody in power who wants to put more alcohol in India, which is causing lots of problems at the moment. “I am a practicing Sikh, and to me, that is absolutely outrageousBalbir Kaur
She then went on to elaborate on the alcoholism prevalent in her family, further stating that speaking about alcohol trade in a Gurdwara was offensive. Johnson immediately apologised for his comment, while at the same time protesting that he knew of many Sikhs who consumed alcohol.
According to the Telegraph, Kaur spoke to the British media afterwards saying that she found Johnson’s speech to be very disrespectful. She said
Although he says his wife is Indian, he has no values for India, and to me, that means that the Conservatives are not bothered about what the people want, it is just about what they want to do.
Johnson had stopped over at the Shri Guru Nanak Prakash Singh Sabha to garner support from the Sikh Community for Bristol East Conservative candidate Theo Clarke.
He was presented with a ceremonial turban and given a tour of the gurdwara before his remarks created a stir.
(With inputs from PTI)
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