Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
NEW YORK, 19th Sept. According to the outlawed extremist group, Sikhs for Justice and media reports on Monday the second phase of referendum to support Khalistan to be held in Canada in October will be asking voters whether the Indian high commissioner was responsible for the death of a radical Sikh leader Nijjar in June.
Sikhs for Justice conducted the first phase of unofficial voting on September 10 in Surrey, said they have added a question to the ballot in British Columbia, the Vancouver Sun newspaper reported.
The October 29 vote will ask whether High Commissioner Sanjay Verma was responsible for the “assassination” of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, chief of banned terror outfit Khalistan Tiger Force and president of Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey.
The High Commission of India in Ottawa and the Consulate General of India in Vancouver didn’t respond on the referendum question, the paper reported.
SFJ unleashed a poster war in Canada after the death of Nijjar on June 18, threatening Indian diplomats and installations, and holding High Commissioner Sanjay Verma and consul generals in Vancouver and Toronto responsible for his death.
Canada’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said last month that they are looking for two “heavy-set” gunmen and the driver of a getaway car, a silver 2008 Toyota Camry as they rule out the connection for foreign interference in Nijjar’s death.
The venue of the upcoming vote will be Surrey’s Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara where Nijjar was gunned down, organisers told Vancouver Sun.
The vote was supposed to be held at a school in Surrey but was cancelled after images of weapons on the poster were brought to the school authorities’ notice by concerned residents.
The SFJ said over 135,000 voters turned up at this month’s referendum, which came the same day Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed strong concerns about anti-India activities to his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau at the G20 Leaders’ Summit.
Modi told Trudeau that the extremist elements are promoting secessionism and inciting violence against Indian diplomats, damaging diplomatic premises, and threatening the community in Canada and their places of worship.
Trudeau said that the actions of the few do not represent the entire community or Canada in a media interaction after meeting his Indian counterpart PM Modi.
“Canada will always defend freedom of expression, freedom of conscience, and freedom of peaceful protest and it is extremely important to us. At the same time we are always there to prevent violence and to push back against hatred,” he said in response to a question on Khalistani extremism on Canadian soil.
New Delhi registered strong protests, but an anti-India campaign has continued in Canada with pro-Khalistani graffiti and posters targeting Indian diplomats and temples across the country.
The incidents of Khalistan elements protesting outside the Indian consulate in Toronto displayed “Kill India ” posters had led to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar stating that Canada was apparently allowed these protests driven by vote bank politics.
Comments are closed.