More than 200,000 people voted in two unofficial referenda, or plebiscites, centered on Canada’s ongoing tensions with India. One of those referendums ended Sunday evening in the Metro Vancouver municipality of Surrey.
A referendum was held at the Gurudwara in Surrey in favor of the establishment of the independent state of Khalistan proposed by the Sikhs in India. This is where Khalistan movement leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar was murdered last June.
Radio Punjab News Director Sarvraj Kahlon declared the recent referendum a success from the polling station. 65 thousand 700 people voted in this referendum of Surrey.
Referendum organizers said the September 10 referendum in British Columbia was so successful that it was not possible to complete the vote in one day.
Gurpatwant Singh Panum, co-organizer of the referendum, said in a statement that the organizers are also planning to hold referendums in Abbotsford, Edmonton, Calgary and Montreal in 2024. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has paved the way for more open discussions around India. He gave an opportunity to the supporters to raise their voices fearlessly to speak in the pox of the Khalistan independence movement.
On September 18, Justin Trudeau said in the House of Commons that there are credible allegations of involvement against the Indian government in Nijjar’s murder.
Nijjar was an organizer of the Khalistan Referendum in Canada. And in other parts of the world referendums have been held on this.
The Indian government has denied involvement in Nijjar’s killing. At the same time, they also said that the Punjabi independence movement was harming India’s national security.
Kahlon said organizers just wanted people to come, join and rally under one flag. Although it is a non-binding referendum, organizers say the United Nations is keeping a close eye on it.
