Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday termed the ‘Referendum 2020’ rally by the Sikhs For Justice in London “a futile exercise to create trouble in India, particularly Punjab”.
“The SFJ is just a group of fringe elements that is playing into the hands of Pakistan’s ISI to divide India…but they have failed, and will continue to fail in their nefarious designs,” the Chief Minister said.
He said the presence of Pakistani politicians at the rally confirms that it was an out-and-out ISI plot, which fell through just as their attempts to create trouble in India have been failing all these years.
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“As expected, it turned out to be a damp squib,” he said, adding that the U.K. government should have put its foot down and not allowed its soil to be used to propagate anti-India campaign.
“By allowing the protesters to use Trafalgar Square, instead of the usual Hyde Park that’s generally used for such purposes, it had shown its total complacency on the issue,” he said.
“The entire referendum business is nothing but a money-making racket of the SFJ, with no takers for the so-called campaign either in India, or even outside, as is evident from the poor show at the rally,” he added.
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Terming the SFJ fringe elements mere social media tigers who were trying to create a hype even when they have no support, both in India and abroad, the Chief Minister said the Sikhs were a patriotic community who have always stood for the unity and integrity of the country.
The Chief Minister warned the SFJ and all other such anti-India forces to stay out of the country and refrain from any attempt to foment trouble in Punjab, or any other part of India.