Takht Sri Patna Sahib managing committee president Jagjot Singh Sohi today condemned the pulling down of the India flag at the Indian High Commission in London by pro-Khalistan separatist. Mr. Sohi demanded strict action against the culprit stressing that few people are maligning the name of Sikh community in the country.
On March 19, Khalistani protestors pulled down the tricolour and made an attempt to storm the High Commission in London. The protestors were demonstrating against a crackdown by security forces in Punjab on the Waris Punjab De (WPD) group.
While speaking to The Hindu Mr. Sohi said,”We strongly condemned the incident of pulling down our national flag and it has sent the wrong message across the world. We would request the London government to take strict action against those people responsible for this shameless act. There are few people living outside the country and engaged in such work. The people of Sikh community are doing great work in the world but time and again such people malign the name of our community.”
Also read: Explained | What is Waris Punjab De and why has its rise set alarm bells ringing?
Mr. Sohi further said, “No one else except Gurpatwant Singh Pannu (founder of banned Khalistani terrorist organisation) is behind this episode. He is a controversial person and keeps on doing such things. He has no followers in India and he has only a handful of people supporting him. They have insulted our national flag and we are very disappointed and in pain. For this national flag the people of the community have sacrificed their lives. The handful of people cannot take away the pride of our nation.”
Last year Mr. Pannu who is a U.S. based Sikhs For Justice (SJF) leader was booked under anti-terror law Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and other penal offences after the ‘Khalistan’ flag had come up outside Himachal Pradesh assembly complex in Dharamshala.
A day after pulling down the national flag, several people belonging to Sikh community had gathered outside the British High Commission in New Delhi to protest against the incident. The people had raised the slogans of “Bharat hamara swabhiman hai (India is our pride) stressing that they will not tolerate any insult to the national flag.
The tricolour flying atop the Indian High Commission in London was grabbed by a group of protestors waving separatist Khalistani flags and chanted pro-Khalistani slogans leading to an arrest related to the violent disorder. Later the officials from the mission had issued the statement that attempted but failed.
