Dudley North candidate Marco Longhi criticised over letter sent to constituents
Dudley North candidate Marco Longhi is facing calls for his suspension over a letter to constituents highlighting his rival's surname.
And he has been criticised by former counterpart in the constituency Ian Austin who accused him of 'nasty, divisive politics'.
The letter, sent to voters of the British Pakistani and Kashmiri community in the constituency, has attracted criticism of Mr Longhi over his stance regarding the Kashnir issue in India which has remained partitioned since 1947.
It asked them if Labour’s 'Sonia KUMAR' would speak up for Kashmir in Parliament.
The letter reads: "I was elected as your MP in 2019 and since my election I have been at the forefront of speaking against the Indian government's atrocities towards the people of Kashmir.
"My involvement is well publicised and I have participated in several Kashmir events. I have always condemned India's continuous illegal actions in Kashmir and in the July 4 general election, you will have to make a choice.
"Who will speak for Kashmir in Parliament? Will it be me or Labour Party Parliamentary candidate Sonia Kumar?
Independent peer and former Dudley North Labour MP Ian Austin tweeted: "This is completely unacceptable. When I was the MP for Dudley I worked hard to fight racisme and sectarian politics and to bring local people together.
"The people of Dudley are better than this and I hope they reject this candidate and his nasty divisive politics."
Labour Party chair Anneliese Dodds said: “This is clearly inappropriate, divisive, dog whistle politics from the Conservatives.
"There is no place for such behaviour anywhere in our political system. Rishi Sunak needs to take action immediately. If he fails to do so, it will show his promise of professionalism, and accountability to be a hollow sham."
Meanwhile former Prime Minster Boris Johnson has endorsed Mr Longhi's candidacy saying constituents could not have a better candidate to be their MP and praising his stance on uncontrolled immigration and work on delivering Brexit.
Mr Longhi said: "I am a long standing member of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Kashmir, and I don’t understand the reason for all the excitement.
"I have credentials and a track record since I was elected in 2019 for calling out the Indian Government atrocities against Kashmiris.
"During canvassing in local areas, I was being asked to clarify my stance on Kashmir and I did that to let my residents know what my stance is.
"The question is should the residents in the constituency of Kashmiri origin trust me with my track record of speaking up for Kashmir or should they trust someone who they don’t know who is Sonia Kumar."
