Protests by alleged Khalistan supporters against India in Canada and the UK over the weekend passed off without any incidents with pro-India supporters outnumbering and overshadowing the pro-Khalistanis in Canada.
The Khalistan backers were protesting against the killing of wanted terrorists Hardeep Singh Nijjar last month in Canada.
The protestors earlier, this month had put up posters in there naming and threatening top Indian diplomats in Canada including High Commissioner to Ottawa Sanjay Kumar Verma and Consul General in Toronto Apoorva Srivastava as “killers” of the Khalistan Tiger Force chief Nijjar.
The posters also announced a ‘Kill India’ rally in front of the Indian embassy on July 8. Similar rallies were planned in Britain and US. Reports said the rally in Toronto turned out to be a damp squib with several members from the Indian community also gathering at the venue with the national flag.
A handful of pro-Khalistan supporters gathered outside the Indian consulate in Canada's Toronto but they were severely outnumbered by members of the Indian community who waved the national flag and raised slogans like “Bharat Mata ki jai”, “Vande Mataram” and “Long Live India”.
The Khalistani group had posters of Sikhs For Justice leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was killed in United Kingdom (UK) on June 18.
These protests came a month after Khalistanis, marking the 39th anniversary of Operation Blue Star, put up a tableau of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi with blood on her clothes and a poster that read, “Revenge of attack on Shri Darbar Sahib”. India summoned the Canad
ian envoy in New Delhi earlier this week and issued a demarche over the increasing activities by pro-Khalistani elements in Canada.
The pro-Khalistan protest outside the Indian High Commission in London late Saturday also passed off with any incident. The duration of Saturday’s demonstration was less than the scheduled duration of about 3-3.5 hours.
Only a handful of people gathered in the rain to attend the protest. It was in sharp contrast with protests at the same location earlier this year when the protestors tried to grab the Indian flag atop the Indian High Commission and tried to vandalise the premises.
During Saturday’s protest, the participants displayed banners with the images of India’s High Commissioner to the UK and its Consul General in Birmingham, blaming them for the killing of Nijjar . Similar posters with the heads of various Indian missions around the world have been circulating on social media in recent days.
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly had, on Thursday announced on Twitter that he had provided assurances about the safety of the High Commission and its staff.
On Friday India called for strict action — such as deportation — against those threatening Indian officials. This was conveyed during bilateral discussions between National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and his British Counterpart Tim Barrow who was in New Delhi on Friday.