Calgary mayor rules out banning Khalistan Referendum voting

CALGARAY, CANADA: Despite objections by the Indian government against the Khalistan Referendum voting, Mayor of Calgary Jyoti Gondek has ruled out possibility of stopping the polling slated for Sunday.

When asked, the mayor said she finds no problem in the voting event as it is being carried out in a lawful and democratic manner. She said her office does not sanction a legitimate event.

The gathering in favour of Khalistan, an advocated independent Sikh homeland, is set to attract thousands of pro-Khalistan Sikhs.

"The public is able to gather at the Municipal Plaza at any time. They can do what they wish to," Gondek said.

Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a US-based group, has been granted permission by the Canadian city administration to hold a non-binding referendum vote at Municipal Plaza and the city mayor does not see this as an issue.

Director of Corporate Properties and Buildings Ian Fleming 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, SFJ leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has accused 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, 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 after Sikhs accused Hindutva supporters of vandalising Khalistan Referendum posters and a Hindu temple came under a graffiti attack from unknown men in Alberta's capital Edmonton.

It has led to a war of words between SFJ leader and India’s most wanted man Pannun and pro-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and pro-Indian government Canadian MP Chandra Arya.

Pannun, who survived an assassination plot by the Indian state in 2023, has called out the local pro-Indian Canadian MP for attacking Sikhs.

Meanwhile, India has asked Canada to take action against anti-India elements.

"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," Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during the weekly media briefing.

Responding to Arya’s statements provoking violence against pro-Khalistan Sikhs in Canada, 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”.

He 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 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 for the killing.

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 started on October 31, 2021, from London UK and has so far been held in several countries and cities across the UK; Geneva, Switzerland; Rome and Milan in Italy; Australian cities of Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney; American city of San Francisco and Sacramento; Canadian cities of Brampton, Mississauga, Malton (Ontario), Surrey Vancouver (British Columbia) and now Calgary.