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British Sikh Association hits hard on pro-Khalistan supporters

By ANI | Updated: August 9, 2020 08:15 IST

The British Sikh Association defied the Sikh Federation UK for its demand for an independent state for the Sikhs after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson assured that his government does not support the Khalistan movement.

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The British Sikh Association defied the Sikh Federation UK for its demand for an independent state for the Sikhs after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson assured that his government does not support the Khalistan movement.

On Friday, British businessman Lord Raminder (Rami) Ranger tweeted, "Today, I spoke with the British Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Boris Johnson who categorically assured me that British government does not support the Khalistan movement. Thank you, Prime Minister."

His comment was countered by Labour Party MP for Birmingham Preet Kaur Gill, who said, "The principle of self-determination is prominently embodied in Article 1 of the Charter of the United Nations. It is positioned as the first right in the twin Human Rights Covenants -- the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and (ICESCR). Most concerning."

Her remark on social media was trolled by the Indian diaspora living in the UK. Kuldeep Singh Shekhawat, a journalist based in London said, "This (Khalistan) is (a) fake idea. There is no one in India demanding Khalistan in India. Indian Sikhs know that India is for them and they are for India."

However, the Sikh Federation UK, which is allegedly working on the behest of Pakistan's secret agency, supported Preet Kaur Gill saying that "Sikhs have a legal and historical right to their own homeland, the British signed treaties with the Sikh Kingdom which are valid today. The betrayal of the British and Gandhi/Nehru Congress in 1947 is the reason for ongoing Sikh revolutionary movements. They won't stop until freedom."

The fake claims and anti-India statements by the Sikh Federation UK and Preet Kaur Gill were countered by The British Sikh Association. "It will be sensible to go to Punjab to form 'The Khalistan Party' with a clear mfesto to establish an independent state for the Sikhs. To start with you must renounce your British passport and shift to Punjab to demonstrate how serious you are," it said.

The pro-Khalists in the West, who are backed by Pakist secret agency, the ISI, are frustrated since Canada and UK governments have denied any support to their so-called 2020 Punjab Referendum.

The Indian state of Punjab, which has faced over a decade long militancy in the 1980s and early 1990s, has no support for the so-called Khalistan movement. Few Sikhs, who migrated to the West during the time of militancy in Punjab, are running this fake campaign with an aim to harm India's sovereignty at the behest of Pakistan.

( With inputs from ANI )

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