New Delhi: A so-called Khalistan referendum, scheduled to take place in Canada's Ontario on November 6, has been denounced by the Narendra Modi government as a threat to India's territorial integrity and sovereignty. It is being planned by the Sikh for Justice (SFJ) organisation, a group that is prohibited from operating In India.
According to a report by Hindustan Times, a top Ministry of External Affairs official delivered the demarche to a senior official of the Canadian High Commission, and the Indian Embassy in Ottawa would also communicate India's deep concern to Global Affairs, Canada, next week.
While the Canadian government publicly declared on September 16 that it respects India's territorial integrity and sovereignty and does not recognise the so-called referendum, New Delhi expressed grave concern that the exercise would be used to sever ties between Indians living abroad by allowing the banned Sikh for Justice (SFJ) organisation to register students to vote.
The alleged referendum is taking place in a for-profit conference hall in an Ontario suburb. On September 18, 2022, the first referendum was held in Brampton, Ontario, HT reported.
The Trudeau government has offered a standard response that people in his nation have the right to gather and voice their opinions so long as they do so peacefully and without breaking the law, despite India raising the issue of SFJ run by Sikh extremist G. S. Pannu with the Canadian government and national security agencies.
However, the Trudeau administration is believed to not have taken any action to restrain the anti-India elements in Canada due to vote-bank politics with Pakistani diplomats allegedly stoking the fire.
Notably, the so-called referendum that Russia held in the occupied eastern portions of Ukraine were vehemently denounced by the Canadian Prime Minister.
According to the HT report, the Indian security forces have warned their Canadian colleagues that if they don't stop Sikh radicals like Pannu from radicalising Sikh youngsters and the society at large in the name of Khalistan, they are playing with fire.
Senior Indian officials told their Canadian colleagues that if the Trudeau administration did not prevent the radicals from brainwashing children and taking over Gurudwaras, they would end up founding Khalistan in Canada.
While extremists have damaged Indian temples across Canada, including the Swaminarayan Mandir in Brampton, Ontario, the Canadian police are currently looking into the crime and have not yet taken any decisive action against the offender.
Extremists are allegedly using the "referendum" to solicit financing from the US, UK, and Germany under the pretext of alleged atrocities committed against the Sikh population in India.