Auckland: More than 37,000 Sikhs exercised their right to vote in the Khalistan referendum held here to create an independent Sikh state of Khalistan within India.
The independent Punjab Referendum Commission (PRC) is conducting the referendum. Dr. Bakhshish Singh Sandhu, Chairman of Khalistan Assembly and founder member of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), announced that the total votes cast exceeded 37,000 votes.
The referendum was held at Aotea Square in Auckland on Sunday, with thousands of Sikhs thronging the venue to cast their votes, prompting organizers to extend the voting time by one hour.
“The Indian government lobbied against the vote and asked New Zealand to ban Sikhs from participating in the vote, but the local authorities agreed to the referendum and instead made it clear that New Zealand is an independent country,” Dr Sandhu told thousands of Khalistan supporters in his speech. A country committed to freedom of expression. Throughout the day, thousands of Sikhs chanted slogans demanding the creation of Khalistan and accused the Indian government of involvement in the Sikh genocide and transnational oppression against Sikhs. They showed how much love there is for Khalistan in the hearts of Sikhs.
After SFJ announced the event in New Zealand, S Jaishankar, India’s External Affairs Minister, raised the matter with New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters during their meeting on the sidelines of the Raisina Down Under conference in Canberra on November 6.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, general counsel of SFJ, told the audience after the referendum that Sikhs had terrorized the Indian state through the peaceful voting process and that the Hindutva state had resorted to terrorist means to punish Sikhs for seeking their homeland. “There is no other acceptable option for Sikhs than freedom from India. Either freedom or martyrdom.”
The SFJ chief announced a $1 million reward for anyone who shared intelligence on foreign trips by Union Home Minister Amit Shah – and held him responsible for allowing the “terror campaign” against Sikhs. He said that the Sikhs had decided to confront the violent Hindutva ideology by all possible means, and the campaign to do so had begun from Ayodhya, the birthplace of the violent Hindutva ideology.
“The Sikh Sangat in the thousands cast their votes today to free Sikhs from Indian occupation,” Bannon said. This is a democratic way to seek freedom but the terrorist Modi government is trying to stop Sikhs with bullets and terror. Martyr Bhai Hardeep Singh Najjar was martyred in Canada inside a gurdwara by order of the Indian government.
“The principle is blood for blood and bullets with bullets and the Sikh Panth has shown with their actions how they can take revenge and enforce their rights – as we saw in the assassination of Indira Gandhi – but today we are fighting India’s bullets with ballot papers. We work through non-violence and through our votes but this is a message to Amit Shah and Narendra Modi, We have brought political death to you through the weapon of ballot. We will hold every Indian leader accountable and bring him to justice through legal action.”
Bannon announced that the next stage of the Khalistan referendum will be held in the US state of Los Angeles. He ended his speech with the slogans “Delhibanay ga Khalistan, Na Indian, Na Hindutva, Na Hindustan, Delhibanay ga Khalistan, Khalistan Zindabad”.