Indians in Britain beamed the image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi holding a sword behind a Nazi Swastika sign, accompanied by words in bold that read "Modi not welcome", onto the walls of British Parliament in the evening on Sunday, 8 November.
Modi will be in the UK from 12 November on a three-day visit, wherein he is expected to meet Queen Elizabeth at the Buckingham Palace over lunch.
However, his much-anticipated visit has also drawn flak from several quarters in Britain. The Awaaz Network has been one of the leading organisations spearheading the protest campaign against Modi, highlighting his role in the 2002 riots in Gujarat.
The group on Sunday, as part of its campaign "Not in My Name", beamed the image on British Parliament near Big Ben to mobilise people to join them in protest on the day Modi addresses the legislature.
A spokeperson from South Asia Solidarity Group, part of the Awaaz Network, said the massive projection of Modi holding a sword in one hand and a shield with the Om symbol, with a Swastika superimposed, was one of the most high-profile messages to be screened in the UK till date.
"The projection represents the fascistic ideology Modi and the RSS — admirers of Hitler — stand for. On the day voters in Bihar decisively rejected Modi's anti-people politics of hate, this demonstrates Modi will get the same message of rejection from a large section of Indians abroad and all those who care about human rights violations. He can no longer peddle the myth of NRI adulation to try and bolster his image at home," the spokersperson told Caravan Daily.
Dalit rights group CasteWatchUK, Awaaz human rights network and South Asia Solidarity are among some of the groups that will organise protests during Modi's visit, according to NDTV.
Last month, several top British scholars had also had voiced their protest against the invite extended to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Cambridge University.
