Push Modi to allow Khalistan Referendum in Punjab, Sikh group asks Johnson

LONDON: A Pro-Khalistan group, Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), has demanded British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to urge Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to allow voting for the “Khalistan Referendum” in the Indian-governed Punjab.

As British prime minister visits India, the secessionist group has sent a communique to Boris Johnson, citing the example of Scottish Independence Referendum that “seeking the opinion of the people through Referendum is recognised as the most democratic and peaceful method of resolving a political question such as continued association of a region with a state.”

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, General Counsel to SFJ, states in the letter: “PM Johnson must impress upon Narendra Modi that Referendum is the only peaceful and democratic way to resolve the ongoing Khalistan issue in which thousands of lives have already been lost from both sides.”

Dupinderjit Singh, the SFJ-UK coordinator, states in the letter: “UK has additional moral responsibility towards the Sikh peoples initiative of holding the Khalistan Referendum as the Sikh majority area of Punjab was given to India in 1947 without first seeking the will of the Sikh people through referendum.”

The letter to the UK PM says: “We are writing to urge you to raise the issue of Khalistan Referendum with your Indian counterpart Narendra Modi during your visit and impress upon India to allow the voting in unofficial Khalistan Referendum on the question of continued association or secession of Punjab from India.