THE chairman of the "council" that made headlines accusing Humza Yousaf of breaking the ministerial code is also the president of a Scottish Conservative group, The National can reveal.
The broadside launched against the Health Secretary followed action taken by his wife Nadia El-Nakla against a nursery they allege discriminated against their child on racial grounds. The Care Inspectorate found the nursery “did not promote fairness, equality and respect”.
However, the Indian Council claimed that it “conducted our own inquiry” into the incident with the Broughty Ferry nursery and found no wrongdoing, saying the Care Inspectorate had “got it wrong”.
The Indian Council’s statements, which made headlines after they accused Yousaf of breaking the ministerial code and claimed to “withdraw support to the SNP-led Scottish Government”, were all signed by the group’s chair, Neil Lal.
Lal is also the chair and president of the Scottish Conservatives Friends of India group.
The ties between the two groups appear to go deeper, as Neil Lal is not the only person who is involved with both of them.
One post from the Indian Council quotes “Rajdeep Sarkar who is a committee member of The Scottish Conservatives Friends of India and The Indian Council of Scotland”.
Sarkar has “liked” recent posts on the Indian Council’s Facebook page calling Humza Yousaf a “repulsive individual” and a “megalomaniac, trouble-making arse”.
The group’s Facebook page has around 800 followers and the council does not appear to have any further online presence.
READ MORE: Westminster health bill 'ignores reality of separate Scottish NHS', SNP say
It claims to represent 33,000 Indians in Scotland, however when asked for the source of this claim, the group declined to answer.
Despite this, the "33,000" claim has been reported across various news outlets, alongside Lal attacking key SNP figures without mention of his affiliation with the Scottish Conservatives.
The council does seem to have more of a real-world presence, with photos of meetings, events, and with elected politicians.
The group said that a vote had been held which led to the decision to withdraw support for the Scottish Government. However, they would not disclose how many people were involved in this vote, nor if the group had ever expressed support for the Scottish Government.
It has however posted in support of top Tories, including Chancellor Rishi Sunak (above) who the council claimed "embodies the quintessential traits desired of a visionary".
Another social media post from the council claims: “The overwhelming majority of Indian diaspora in Scotland share mutual values of the Conservative party as well as with the Scottish Conservatives Party.”
It is unclear on what basis they are making this claim. A recent poll of British Indians found that Labour enjoys a 10-point lead over the Tory Party among the diaspora across the UK.
In that same post, Lal is pictured alongside former Scottish Conservative leader Jackson Carlaw holding a sign which reads “Team Jackson”.
The Scottish Tory Party has also previously accused the Health Secretary of breaking the ministerial code.
READ MORE: Police do security sweep at Humza Yousaf's house due to threats
Asked about the Indian Council’s attack by STV News, Yousaf criticised the “inquiry” they reportedly carried out.
“It seems to me that if you were going to carry out an investigation into discrimination of my daughter, then you should probably speak to us,” he said.
“It seems that they’re also trying to besmirch the name and reputation of the Care Inspectorate, I think that’s unfortunate.
“They’re an independent regulator, and their report, well, they’ve already spoken about the fact that they’ve upheld our complaint.”
The nursery previously accused Yousaf and his partner of having a "vendetta" against them, and said they "cannot apologise for something we haven’t done - no matter the pressure applied".
The Indian Council of Scotland would not talk to The National or answer the questions put to them.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel