London: UK's Conservative party Tuesday said it will support India's bid for a permanent seat at the UN Security Council and push for an ambitious EU-India free trade deal, making clear its leaning towards the country.
The Tories, which leads a coalition government headed by Prime Minister David Cameron, stressed on building stronger ties with India in an election manifesto released in Swindon.
"As part of our drive to attract more investment into the UK and increase British exports, we will build on our strong relationship with India, push for an ambitious EU-India trade deal and support India's bid for permanent representation on the UN Security Council," the document said.
"We will push for freer global trade, concluding major trade deals with the US, India and Japan and reinvigorating the World Trade Organisation," it said, ahead of the May 7 General Election.
Cameron, who led the largest-ever business delegation to India soon after taking over as Prime Minister in 2010, has since made his leanings towards the country quite clear.
Last month, he joined Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan to launch the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Parliament Square and hailed the "incredibly special friendship between the world's oldest democracy and its largest".
China also finds an equal mention, alongside India, with a pledge to double support for "British firms selling goods there and championing an EU-China trade deal."
Pakistan, however, is conspicuous by its absence from the 83-page document, which could indicate the nature of future UK ties in South Asia under a re-elected Tory government.
Besides the ties on the world stage, India is also named as the only country in the section on "heritage, creativity and sports" to get a whole new museum gallery.
"We will help the Manchester Museum, in partnership with the British Museum, to establish a new India Gallery," says the document.
India's environmental efforts also get Tory backing with plans to "support the Indian government in its efforts to protect the Asian elephant."
The Tories hope that these pledges will help swing any undecided votes from the nearly 1.6 million Indian-origin voters, as well as Commonwealth citizens based in the UK who are also eligible to vote in next month's General Election.
In contrast, the Opposition Labour party made no specific references to India in its manifesto launched yesterday. China, however, seems to have found space in the world view of the party led by Ed Miliband.
"Labour will set up an Asia Step-Change Taskforce to ensure a more strategic and effective dialogue with regional partners, including China, both in the commercial realm, and in other areas, from cultural exchange to human rights," the party's manifesto said.
The election continues to remain too close to call with experts forecasting a hung Parliament.
