London mayoral election 2016: Zac Goldsmith targets British-Indians with 'patronising' flyers

Zac Goldsmith has been criticised for a personalised flyer sent to thousands of British-Indians in London due to its "patronising" nature. Many have reacted angrily to the flyers, accusing Goldsmith of failing to understand London's British-Indian community.

The mayoral candidate attempted to appeal for votes by warning that Sadiq Khan's Labour Party supported a "wealth tax on family jewellery", which had been capitalised for emphasis.

Goldsmith's flyers also highlighted the fact that Jeremy Corbyn had once signed a petition to ban Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the UK. The flyer stated: "[Zac Goldsmith] welcomed Prime Minister Modi to London last year alongside Prime Minister David Cameron. Khan did not attend the 'UK Welcomes Modi' event at Wembley Stadium last year."

Many British-Indians have taken to Twitter to comment on the flyers, with the Political Advisor for Labour in Local Government, Uma Kumaran, joining in to dismiss it as "patronising". Kumaran tweeted: "Don't know which is worse, assuming that because I'm Asian, [my] primary concerns are jewellery/business, or that this is now [a] mainstream form of campaigning."

Tulip Siddiq, Labour MP for Hampstead and Kilburn, also responded to the flyers targeting the British-Indian community, calling Goldsmith's mayoral campaign "desperate and negative". He accused the Tory candidate of not being a suitable to be mayor of London.

Siddiq told the Mirror: "It's no surprise that [the Tories] have resorted to sending out these scaremongering and totally dishonest leaflets. Zac Goldsmith just doesn't understand the great diversity of our City – he is not fit to be Mayor. His campaign is patronising London's communities by trying to scare them with the threat of a non-existent jewellery tax, rather than focusing on the big issues like housing, transport and policing."

IBTimes UK has contacted Zac Goldsmith for comment.