Sikh UK MP shames Johnson for ‘letter box’ burqa remark

LONDON A lawmaker for Britain’s opposition Labour Party got an unusual round of applause after challenging Prime Minister Boris Johnson to apologise for comparing

LONDON A lawmaker for Britain’s opposition Labour Party got an unusual round of applause after challenging Prime Minister Boris Johnson to apologise for comparing Muslim women who wear face-covering veils to “letter boxes.”

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Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, Britain’s first turbaned Sikh MP, took on Johnson during the prime minister’s weekly question-and-answer session before the House of Commons on Wednesday. Dhesi asked Johnson to say he was sorry for the “derogatory and divisive” remarks in a newspaper column.

The Sikh lawmaker said that “for those of us from a young age who have had to endure and face up to being called names such as towel head or Taliban or coming from Bongo Bongo land, we can appreciate full well the hurt and the pain felt by already vulnerable Muslim women when they are described as looking like bank robbers or letter boxes.”

Tanmanjeet, who himself wears a turban, said he was insulted for his clothing at several occasions and was also called towelhead.

Tanmanjeet was elected as the Member of Parliament for Slough in 2017.

“If I decide to wear a turban, or if someone decides to wear a cross or a hijab, it doesn’t mean that it is an open season for people in this House to make derogatory and divisive remarks,” he said, referring to the PM’s remark.

Johnson demurred, saying his remarks were taken out of context. “I would also like to say that under this government, we have the most diverse cabinet in the history of this country ,” the PM added.