People of Punjab call for action against 'Referendum 2020' supporters

The people of Punjab have called for strict action against those supporting 'Referendum 2020', a campaign launched with an objective to seek a separate homeland for Sikhs called Khalistan.

"We demand Punjab government and the Central government to take strict action against those who are involved in Khalistan movement and are carrying out anti-national activities in England," said Varun Mehta, the state head of Hindu Tatva here.

The campaign was launched by US-based group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) allegedly at the behest of Pakistan's ISI.

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a law graduate from the Panjab University and currently an attorney at law in the US, is the face of the SFJ and its legal adviser.

Recently, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) banned the SFJ under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, citing that the group was espousing secessionism and militant ideology in Punjab while operating from safe places on foreign soils and actively supported by inimical forces in other countries.

In a move to malign the image of India abroad, the activists of SFJ shouted anti-India and pro-Khalistan slogans during the ICC Cricket World Cup match in Leeds.

The people of Punjab condemn this malicious propaganda at the behest of Pakistan's spy agency, the ISI.

"The atmosphere which is being created in England by Khalistan supporters is very unfortunate. They are doing all this to highlight their movement using global media," added Nitin Tandon, a city resident.

"It is just a drama being enacted by them over there. 'Referendum 2020' will have no impact on Punjab. It is just a publicity stunt by Khalistan supporters, who are collecting money and killing the people of Punjab. The Khalistan movement has no base in Punjab," he added.

Rajiv Arora, District vice president of Shiv Sena said, "A few days back when the match between India and England was going on, Khalistan supporters, hoisted the flags of Khalistan and Pakistan with an aim to terrorise Punjabis. They even raised slogans which have become a matter of concern for entire Punjab".

"People of Punjab have already passed through a lot of violence in the past decades. Inda should ask the UK government to arrest all the Khalistan supporters in England," he added.