Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi joined the global discourse objecting to the labeling of organized groups in the UK involved in sexual exploitation of girls as in Asia. He called for them to be labeled as “Pakistani gangs” and Tesla CEO Elon Musk agreed with his argument.
‘Grooming gangs,’ made up mainly of British and Pakistani men, preyed on vulnerable girls, gaining their trust over time before sexually exploiting them. The argument resurfaced in the middle calls for a nationwide investigation into those crimes and how the authorities have handled such cases. Elon Musk has accused UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer of being involved in the practice.
“Repeat after me, they are not ASIAN Grooming Gangs but PAKISTANI GANGS. Why should Asians take over one corrupt nation? Chaturvedi tweeted, tagging Musk.
Supporting the statement of Uddhav Sena MP, Musk wrote, “True”, without elaborating. Chaturvedi then shared Musk’s response, adding “Okay”.
Starmer recently referred to “Asian gangs” at the time to defend his record of dealing with these chargessaying the first prosecution took place during his tenure as head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) from 2008 to 2013. However, several groups in the Indian diaspora in the UK are strongly opposed to the use of the broader term “Asian”.
The Network of Sikh Organizations (NSO), in a statement, stated that, “Part of the problem with this issue has been the fear of not speaking freely about the nationality and (or) religion of the majority of the perpetrators.” This, in some cases, has made it worse for the victims.”
Several British Hindu groups have also expressed concern about “political correctness” and the fear of being called racist or Islamophobic, accusing the UK authorities of failing victims of such crimes.
Legal reports from the past decade revealed that 1,400 children were sexually abused, raped by multiple perpetrators, trafficked to other cities, kidnapped, beaten, and threatened with guns. Some of the victims were as young as 11 years old.
Starmer dismissed allegations of failure to prosecute gangs responsible for sexually abusing girls, saying he overcame opposition to the issue by reopening the cases.