Local man stands for the London Assembly

Hornchurch resident Upkar Singh Rai has thrown his hat into the ring to stand as a Greater London Assembly member on the London-wide Assembly Party List in the GLA elections next month.

Mr Rai is a member of the Sikh community and spends a great deal of time volunteering in cultural, religious, charitable and welfare associations. He has also spent many years campaigning on human rights issues including the rights of Sikhs in the UK but moreso their position in India. He says that Sikhs have always been treated as second class in their ancestoral homeland in the Punjab and a systematic process of oppression & genocide is being carried out against all minorities. 

Putting ‘Business before Human Rights’

He added that “The farmers, largely Sikh, in the Punjab have been carrying out one of the biggest protests in Indian history against the Government’s attempt to privatise the purchase of farming produce at the farmer’s & workers expense.” He stated that “The Punjab is the country’s ‘breadbasket’ and has been exploited ever since independence. It is time Sikhs were asked what they wanted e.g. more autonomy or even Independence”

The UK Government’s policy of putting ‘business over human rights’ has prompted Upkar to profile these human rights violations to the public.

Classical Liberal Party

Upkar Rai is standing for the National Liberal Party – Self-Determination for All! on the London-wide Assembly List vote (orange slip). He says the party, based on Classical Liberal values of free speech and greater democracy, supports the greater use of referendums as well as the right of all people’s to choose their own future, namely acts of self-determination. 

He urges all those who support such values and all national minorites that have had to escape persecution or worse, to vote for the list! 

The Greater London Assembly vote for Mayor, Assembly Constituencies and the London-wide Assembly list, all take place on May 6th.