'Rishi Sunak in UK, Kamala Harris in US, now India needs to... ': P Chidambaram takes a dig at BJP

Rishi Sunak, 42, a Conservative party politician who is of Indian descent, will be the next Prime Minister of the UK. However, intense politics has begun in India over Sunak's rise with non-BJP parties taking a dig at the ruling NDA dispensation over its alleged "majoritarianism".

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister P Chidambaram has used the victory of Rishi Sunak in the race to become the UK`s next Prime Minister to take a swipe at the BJP, remarking that there is a lesson to be learned by the parties that practise majoritarianism. "First Kamala Harris, now Rishi Sunak in the UK. The people of the US and the UK have embraced the non-majority citizens of their countries and elected them to high office in government. I think there is a lesson to learned by India and the parties that practise majoritarianism," he said in a tweet on Monday.

First Kamala Harris, now Rishi Sunak

The people of the U.S. and the U.K have embraced the non-majority citizens of their countries and elected them to high office in government

I think there is a lesson to learned by India and the parties that practise majoritarianism

— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) October 24, 2022

Rishi Sunak, 42, will take charge as Britain's first Indian-origin Prime Minister after an audience with King Charles III on Tuesday, a day after he was elected the new leader of the Conservative Party in a historic leadership run.

Outgoing Prime Minister Liz Truss will chair her final Cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street on Tuesday morning before she makes her way to Buckingham Palace to formally tender her resignation to the 73-year-old monarch. Sunak, 42, will then arrive at the palace for his meeting with the King, who will formally anoint him as the UK's new Prime Minister. 

The former chancellor will then make his first prime ministerial address on the steps of 10 Downing Street, expected to be joined by wife Akshata Murty and daughters Krishna and Anoushka. "The UK is a great country, but there is no doubt we face a profound economic challenge," said Sunak in his first address as Prime Minister-elect on Monday.

"We now need stability and unity and I will make it my utmost priority to bring our party and our country together; because that is the only way we will overcome the challenges we face and build a better, more prosperous future for our children and our grandchildren," he said. "I pledge that I will serve you with integrity and humility and I will work day in and day out to deliver for the British people," Sunak said. 

Sunak, who describes himself as a “proud Hindu”, is the UK's first Prime Minister of South Asian heritage and the youngest for more than 200 years at the age of 42. His victory on Diwali has resonated among the Indian diaspora groups across the UK, who have hailed it as a “historic moment” in British social history.

It will be the first time a non-white will occupy the position of head of government in the UK. Sunak had also contested the race for Conservative party chief, and the Prime Minister after Boris Johnson stepped down earlier this year, but though emerging as a frontrunner, eventually lost to Liz Truss. However, Truss could not rule long and quit after criticism of her handling of the economy, and Sunak won the race this time round.