Islamabad, JULY27: The Mayor of Calgary has said that the city council cannot stop Khalistan Referendum voting on July 28th after the objections raised by the Indian government against the event that is set to attract thousands of pro-Khalistan Sikhs.
In an interview, Mayor Jyoti Gondek said she doesn’t see the Khalistan voting as an issue as those involved are carrying out a legitimate, democratic exercise and its not for her office to sanction lawful events.
She said: “The public is able to gather at the Municipal Plaza at any time. They can do what they wish to.”On Sunday, Sikhs for Justice, a US-based group, has been granted permission by the City of Calgary to hold a non-binding referendum vote at Municipal Plaza. Mayor Jyoti Gondek does not see this as an issue.
Ian Fleming, Director of Corporate Properties and Buildings said, “Individuals and organisations can use the plaza without permission, application or permit if they adhere to the expectations and guidelines of appropriate activities and behaviours.”
On Friday, hundreds of local Sikhs took part in a car rally in the city that started from Gurdawara Dashmash Cultural Centre and toured the city for three hours. More than 100 vehicles were part of the rally, carrying Khalistan flags and banners.
Pro-Khalistan Sikhs For Justice leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has accused the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of running a hate mongering campaign against Sikhs directly and through proxies as tensions grew between Indian and Canadian Sikhs ahead of Khalistan Referendum voting in Calgary on the weekend.
The Indian government has expressed its nervousness just hours ahead of Khalistan Referendum voting in the Canadian city which is set to draw thousands of pro-Khalistan Sikhs to take part in the voting on the question of Punjab’s separation from India.
Tensions have risen as Sikhs accused Hindutva supporters of vandalising Khalistan Referendum posters and in Alberta’s capital Edmonton a Hindu temple coming under a graffiti attack from the unknown men, leading to a war of words between SFJ leader and India’s most wanted man Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on one hand and the Indian government and pro-BJP Canadian MP on the other.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who survived an assassination plot by the Indian state last year, has called out the local pro-Indian Canadian MP Chandra Arya for attacking Sikhs. “When a democracy adopts different yardsticks to measure or implement the rule of law and freedom of expression, it only exposes its double standards. We expect Canada to take action against anti-India elements who have repeatedly threatened Indian leaders, institutions, airlines, and diplomats with violence,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during a weekly media briefing.
Responding to MP Arya’s statements provoking violence against Pro Khalistan Sikhs in Canada, Sikhs For Justice General Counsel Gurpatwant Singh Pannun fired back stating that “MP Arya should go back to his motherland, as at the directions of his master Indian PM Modi, Arya is running a hate mongering campaign against Sikhs and has effectively abandoned his allegiance to Canada”.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun said: “Every action and word of MP Arya resonates with the Hindu Supremacist Modi regime which is responsible for assassination of Shaheed Nijjar and transnational repression against Sikhs in Canada.”
Demanding Arya’s disqualification as Canadian MP, Pannun stated: “Arya is adherent of Modi’s Hindutva Ideology that promotes use of violence to suppress dissenting political opinion, which is in direct conflict with the fundamental principles of Canadian democracy as enshrined in the Charter of Rights. July 28 Khalistan Referendum Voting in Calgary is dedicated to aa pro Khalistan Canadian Sikhs who, following the Canadian Values, attained martyrdom in Punjab while fighting India’s injustice.”
Last year, Pannun’s close associate and Khalistan Referendum Canada head Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed on Canadian soil by the Indian secret service agents. Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has directly blamed India.
The Khalistan Referendum voting campaign is being organised under the supervision of the independent Punjab Referendum Commission (PRC) which will announce the results when all phases are completed. The voting launched on October 31, 2021 from London UK has so far been held in several countries and cities across the UK; Geneva Switzerland; Rome and Milan (Italy); Australian cities of Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney; American city of San Francissco and Sacramanto; Canadian cities of Brampton, Mississauga, Malton (Ontario), Surrey Vancouver (British Columbia) and now Calgary.
