Canadian Government:
A Canadian government official commented on the situation that arose following an attack on a Hindu temple and a poster of a revered Khalistan Sikh leader, saying that Canadian citizens had full freedom to express their opinions in accordance with the laws of the nation pertaining to the right to freedom of expression and the right to free monologue and subassemblies.
The formal opinions followed the Indian government’s call on the Canadian government, which is home to nearly a million Sikhs, to take action against the pro-Khalistani mentality that is growing there.
The pro-Kahlistani and pro-separatist society Sikhs for Justice is running a well-known movement for Khalistan (SJF).
Before the Khalistan Referendum vote at the Gore Meadows Community Center in Brampton, Ontario, where dozens of individuals met at the center on Saturday to make preparations for the voting today, the Indian government reportedly attempted to exert political pressure on the Canadian government.
Representatives from Canada were cited as saying that their country could not restrict its citizens’ ability to participate in politics and demand their rights in a constitutional and peaceful manner.
Sukhminder Singh Dhaliwal, a member of the Canadian parliament, added that freedom of speech in politics was unavoidable.
According to him, they acknowledged that the referendum was intended to gauge support for an independent Khalistan.
He went on to say that the United Nations will be contacted when the polling was over.
The SJF and other pro-Khalistan organizations, according to Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, have no connections to violent crime. We support the ballot, not the shot. India despises our peacemaking strategy, he said.
According to SJF’s policy director, Jatinder Singh Grewal, the issue of the Khalistan Referendum comes clearly within the freedom of speech and expression, which is a basic human right cherished by all Canadians.
As a result of their systematic criminalization of political dissent within their own state, India has a hard time understanding this notion, and as a result, many Sikhs who want to practice their freedom of choice are now branded as “terrorists.”
Additionally, he asserted that attempts by Indians to transfer their harsh system to the West had been unsuccessful since this right was guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom and that no amount of pressure from Indians could alter this reality.
The scenes of tens of thousands of Sikhs protesting in the western cities, calling for independence from India and the creation of the state of Khalistan, reportedly alarmed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration.
When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited India a few years ago, the subject of Sikh nationalism was a major source of concern. The Indian government had publicly charged Canadian authorities with being tolerant of Khalistanis living in Canada.
The SJF angrily rejected the Indian government’s demand that citizens not be allowed to misuse their rights to free speech to incite violence and celebrate terrorists as victims.
The BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in Toronto was vandalized with anti-Indian and pro-Khalistan taglines written at the entrance prior to the September 18 voting that was expected to draw tens of thousands of Sikhs, according to the Indian media. This prompted the Indian officials to launch a strong protest with their Canadian contemporaries.
