The secessionist group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) organized the Khalistan referendum at a gurdwara in British Columbia, Canada on Sunday.
As per a report by The Hindustan Times, this development coincided with Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing India’s deep apprehensions regarding the ongoing anti-India activities involving extremist factions in Canada to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the same day.
The voting occurred at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, the very gurdwara that was previously led by Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the prominent figure of SFJ in the province. Tragically, Nijjar was fatally shot by unidentified attackers in the gurdwara’s parking lot on June 18.
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While SFJ has accused India of being responsible for Nijjar’s assassination, the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT), which is handling the case, has not made any arrests in connection with the murder and has not officially determined a motive for the crime.
Despite India’s repeated expressions of concern to the Canadian government regarding the use of Canadian territory for separatist activities, it appears that there is unlikely to be any immediate action taken in response.
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This sentiment was echoed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during his media briefing in New Delhi, where he was attending the G20 leaders’ summit and had a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi on the sidelines of the event.
“Diaspora Canadians make up a huge proportion of our country, and they should be able to express themselves and make their choices without interference from any of the many countries that we know are involved in interference challenges,” he said.
After the G-20 Summit meet concluded, PM Trudeau addressed a press conference in Delhi where he answered queries on Khalistan extremism and said, “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”.
On Khalistan extremism and “foreign interference”, PM Trudeau said, “I think on the issue of the community, it is important to remember that the actions of the few do not represent the entire community or Canada. The flip side of it, we also highlighted the importance of respecting the rule of law and we did talk about foreign interference…”
(With inputs from agencies)
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Updated: 11 Sep 2023, 12:04 PM IST
