Even as the government is making fresh efforts to get the Kohinoor, the UK reiterated its position that there is no legal ground for the restitution of the precious diamond to India.
“It is our long-held position… We think there are no legal grounds for the restitution of the Kohinoor,” Alok Sharma, Britain’s newly-appointed minister in the foreign and commonwealth office responsible for Asia and the Pacific, said on Tuesday.
The NDA government held a high-level meeting last week on the restitution of the diamond, gearing up to make a fresh pitch for it. Sharma is the most senior functionary of the new British government to visit India and he held meetings with a host of Indian ministers and officials.
Sharma said the two governments are in touch on the matter of streamlining the extradition process. There are 13 extradition requests pending before the UK from India. He said India is a valued strategic partner of the United Kingdom spoke at length about the strength of the relationship. Sharma earlier served as special envoy of former PM David Cameron on infrastructure to India.