India-Canada News: Amid the deeply strained Indo-Canada relationship, Khalitani groups proliferating in the North American country organised the second phase of the so-called 'Khalistanm Referendum' in Surrey town of Canada's British Columbia province on October 29. According to a report of IANS, voting took place at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, where Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the pro-Khalistan militant and leader of Khalistan Tiger Force, was fatally shot on June 18. More than 60,000 people participated in the referendum held outside the gurdwara.
A Sikh For Justice (SFJ) spokesperson provided the details to the agency on the referendum, aiming to create an independent homeland for Sikhs in India.
The spokesperson of the now-banned outfit said that the combined voter turnout of both phases has crossed 2 lakh votes. Despite the shooting of Nijjar in its parking lot, the organisers chose the same Surrey Gurudwara as the voting venue. The Indian government had earlier in 2022 warned the Canadian government of growing 'Anti-India' activities in their territory, however, the Canadian government rejected the multiple requests to hold the Khalistan Referendum while linking it with a peaceful and democratic process within the legal parameters of the country's laws.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the co-organizer of the referendum, informed the media that they have plans for additional voting rounds scheduled in Abbotsford, Edmonton, Calgary, and Montreal in 2024.
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After the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau levelled 'evidence-less' allegations on India of its involvement in Nijjar's killing, the relationship between the two countries hit the rock-bottom. The strained ties erupted in a full-on, tit-for-tat, diplomatic tussle when Canada ordered two of India's diplomatic staff to leave the country, India responded befittingly by sending more than 20 Canadian embassy staff back home.