London, March 10 The UK government has condemned any form of religious hatred as "abhorrent" after the targeting of a group of British Hindus who had gathered for a Holi celebration in northwest London was raised in Parliament.
Opposition Conservative Party MP Bob Blackman asked the Labour government to intervene to "cool community tensions" after a group of "thugs" disrupted an annual celebration of Holi at an old Civic Centre car park site in his constituency of Harrow last week.
Blackman, who chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for British Hindus, called for an official statement in the House of Commons to reassure his constituents.
"This event has been running for many years. It is a joyful occasion, and more than a thousand people attended," Blackman told MPs.
"However, the thugs from the Central Mosque left the mosque and then decided to disrupt the proceedings by pulling over the speakers and disconnecting the audio system. They were then chased away by stewards. That was bad enough.
"They then came back with 20 more thugs and attempted to attack the people celebrating. This is in Harrow, where we have excellent community relations, and I hope this will not happen anywhere else or again. But the sad reality is that community tensions are rising because of various different things across the world, and it is our responsibility as politicians to cool things down," he said.
Blackman called on the Leader of the Commons, Alan Campbell, for tangible steps to ensure that people can "celebrate in peace and harmony".
"I am sad to hear of the disruption that happened at celebrations in Harrow," responded Campbell.
He declined to comment directly on the incident, which took place last Tuesday, because it is under investigation by the Metropolitan Police.
"However, any form of religious hatred is abhorrent and has no place in our society, wherever it happens. I absolutely agree... on the importance of the language we use as politicians inside and outside this House.
"I will consider his request about social cohesion and see what we can do in the next few weeks to address his very real concern," he said.
The Met Police had been called to the incident and confirmed a 14-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of "affray".
"The Hindu community deserves transparency, honesty and protection. Hindus celebrating their festival should never feel unsafe in Britain," INSIGHT UK, a diaspora advocacy group, has said.