Punjab CM hails Canada’s stand against ‘Referendum 2020’
Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, here on Saturday, welcomed the decision of Canada to reject the ‘Referendum 2020’, being organised by the Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a pro-Khalistan group.
The Chief Minister hoped that other countries would also follow Canada and reject the secessionist ‘Referendum 2020’, which the SFJ was promoting to divide India on communal lines.
Singh was reacting to a media report quoting a spokesperson for the foreign ministry of Canada, who said, “Canada respects the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of India, and the government of Canada will not recognise the referendum.”
The Chief Minister said the stand taken by the Justin Trudeau government was exemplary and other nations should also come out openly against the SFJ, banned by India as a terrorist organisation, and whose founder Gurpatwant Singh Pannu has been declared a terrorist for promoting Pakistan-backed terror activities on the Indian soil.
Singh said the failure to openly oppose the separatist SFJ could set a dangerous precedent for any country as it could be seen as a case of covert support to an organisation that was propagating secessionist activities.
It was in the interest of global peace and security to reject forces bent upon spreading terror, he said and added, Sikhs in Punjab had rejected SFJ’s por-Khalistan movement.