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Indian High Commissioner to Canada Dinesh Patnaik issued a firm reaction to the Sikhs for Justice referendum held in Ottawa seeking the creation of 'Khalistan'. He said that while peaceful demonstrations are acceptable, Canada must consider how such actions are interpreted in India, where they are often seen as interference by Ottawa.
In an interview with CBC, Patnaik referred to Sunday's exercise as a farcical event "which you can hold," noting that India does not object to people raising political demands. "I mean for us, having peaceful protest or asking for something is part of a political process. We have no problem with it. In fact, in India, there are political parties which ask for the formation of a Khalistani government and they are in Parliament. There are two people in Parliament and one of them is the son of the one of the persons convicted of the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi," the Indian envoy said. He added that Canadians are well aware of what constitutes a real referendum. "You people know what a referendum is. You have done referendums in the past. You know how farcical this is. Referendums have a certain process. This is a referendum by Canadians done in Canada. If you want to do it, do it," Patnaik said such activities gain significance beyond Canada, contributing to wider concerns in India. Patnaik also highlighted how these events are perceived back home. "The problem that happens is that back home in India they see this as Canadian interference in India as Canadians see anything as Indian interference in Canada. That's something Canada has to think about," he said, urging Ottawa to take note of the political implications. He further criticised the pictures used at the event, saying they escalate tensions. "If it's peaceful, it's fine. But what are you doing? You are displaying pictures of violence, showing pictures of a former Prime Minister of India being assassinated. You are glorifying suicide bombers who killed a former chief minister of Punjab," he said, stressing that such imagery is deeply troubling for many in India. To underline the sensitivity, Patnaik drew a parallel with Canadian history. "Imagine a situation where some other country would do the same thing with Quebec....how do you feel?" he said, clarifying that he did not intend to offend but sought to illustrate why the issue resonates strongly in India. Quebec previously conducted two referendums, in 1980 and 1995, on the question of separating from Canada, with voters rejecting independence both times, highlighting how divisive such debates can be even within long-standing democracies. Sikhs for Justice held the latest phase of its referendum campaign in Ottawa on Sunday; the group's Canada chapter had been led by Hardeep Singh Nijjar until his assassination in 2023. (ANI)
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