LONDON: Just days after the San Francisco Indian consulate was set on fire at the weekend, a poster promoting a Khalistan Kill India rally outside the Indian high commission in London on July 8 has surfaced on Twitter.Several anonymous Twitter accounts, with less than 10 followers each, all created in June 2023, were promoting the same tweet on Wednesday, stating, Khalistan KILL India Rallies 8 July to challenge #Indian Hand in Assassination of Nijjar, and tagging various journalists that write for the Indian media.The tweet has a poster advertising a Khalistan Freedom Rally on July 8 at 12.30 pm outside the Embassy of India in London with photos of Indian high commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami and Dr Shashank Vikram, consul-general of India, Birmingham.The poster falsely labels them as the faces of Hardeep Singh Nijjars killers in Vancouver.
It also wrongly refers to Vikram as being CG of the Embassy of India in London.
It appears to be created by Sikhs for Justice, which has its name blazoned it and which is behind the unofficial Khalistan referendum.Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a designated terrorist and pro-Khalistan leader, was shot dead by two unidentified gunmen in British Columbia province, Canada, on June 18.Another tweet has a video of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, US-based general counsel of Sikhs for Justice, in which he claims on camera: The global Sikh community is forming a peaceful and democratic process to liberate Punjab Every Indian diplomat, whether in the UK, US, Canada, Australia or European countries, they are responsible for the assassination of Nijjar because they represent this Indian regime which is using violence to stop a ballot Kuldeep Shekhawat, president of the Overseas Friends of BJP UK, told TOI: What will Pannun gain with these kinds of gimmicks? Postering the Indian high commissioner and our CG in Birmingham clearly shows the frustration.
There is no Khalistani support from the Indian diaspora and it is a clear story of a misinformation campaign that a handful of misguided Sikhs are trying to do.
A true Sikh is for the nation India and will always remain (so).Similar posters carrying photographs of Indian diplomats in Canada, the US and Australia and promoting Khalistan rallies on July 8 outside Indian missions have also appeared online.
India on Tuesday summoned Canadian high commissioner Cameron Mackay to register a protest over the Canadian poster.