The Akali Dal Panch Pardani and Dal Khalsa has taken exception to the statement of Canadian foreign minister John Baird in which he had assured his Indian counterpart to initiate action against Sikh Canadians who are supporting the cause of Sikh independence in Punjab.

Both the political parties have urged the Canadian government not to get misled by the Indian government’s propaganda against the protagonists of Khalistan.

Two B.C. politicians are sharply refuting claims made by the president of the Indian Overseas Congress that they have aided the Khalistan movement.

Indian media originally reported last week that Vikram Bajwa, the IOC president and failed Surrey mayoral candidate, made allegations that Nina Grewal and Sukh Dhaliwal have travelled frequently to Pakistan to collect funds that were diverted to keep the Khalistan militant campaign, which seeks to create a separate Punjab state, alive.

Grewal, the Conservative MP for Fleetwood-Port Kells, and Dhaliwal, who was Liberal MP for Newton-North Delta from 2006 to 2011, both denied the report.

“[Bajwa] has made slanderous, false allegations against me that have not a shred of truth to them. He claims that I frequently visit Pakistan – although I’ve never been there. He claims I collected money while there for a Khalistan campaign – totally false and impossible since I’ve have never even visited the country,” Grewal said in a statement to The South Asian Post.

“[He] has fabricated a story that has absolutely no basis in reality. His claims are without fact or merit.”

Dhaliwal issued a statement through his lawyer Leslie Mackoff, also refuting all claims made by Bajwa.

“Mr. Dhaliwal has been to Pakistan once in his life in conjunction with a trip to India in 2011. He has never provided support of any type to the Khalistan movement. It is abundantly clear to us that Mr. Bajwa is committed to making mischief without any factual foundation for doing so.”

Both Grewal and Dhaliwal’s lawyer demanded an immediately apology and retraction by Bajwa, and said that any publication of his claims would be slander.

The claim came on the heels of Foreign Minister John Baird assuring Indian reporters that Canada was committed to curbing extremist groups amidst reports of stepped-up activities of Khalistani militants.

“We are committed to doing whatever we can within the limits of the constitution to curb activities of such extremist groups in Canada,” Baird told reporters today in New Delhi during a joint press conference with Indian external affairs minister SM Krishna.

In a joint statement, spokespersons Akali Dal Panch Pardani and Dal Khalsa, Harpal Singh Cheema and Kanwar Pal Singh said seeking right to self-determination was inalienable right of all ethnic peoples and nations.

They slammed foreign minister S M Krishna for raking up the issue of “Sikh extremism in Canada”, on the sidelines of recently concluded talks between India and Canada in Delhi. “We would like to emphasis the point that fighting for one’s rights including right to self determination is not extremism”.

Accusing the present government for adopting double standards on the issue, they reminded how Canada’s previous leadership has granted the people of Quebec (Canadian province) their right to self-determination in 1980 and 1995.

They pointed out that it has been wrongly presumed within India and among the people concerned abroad that the issue of Sikh Sovereignty has become thing of the past.

The World Sikh Organisation said what appears to be India’s motivation behind these allegations of “rising Sikh extremism” in Canada is a desire to quash legitimate discussion of ongoing human rights abuses in India.  

In his letter to Minister Baird, WSO President Prem Singh Vinning said, “as a national human rights organization that has been deeply engaged with the Canadian Sikh community for nearly three decades, we have yet to see any signs or evidence of this alleged rise in extremism.  The World Sikh Organization of Canada has repeatedly called for proof of such claims but none has been forthcoming…There is absolutely no evidence to suggest that there is any threat of violence or radical extremism in the Sikh community today.”

Despite the Canadian Sikh community being more tightly woven into the Canadian fabric than ever, the continued baseless allegations of “rising Sikh extremism” have proven extremely damaging.  The WSO has earlier linked allegations of extremism in the Sikh community with a rise in racism and discrimination against Canadian Sikhs, including hate speech and racist graffiti equating Sikhs with terrorists.

Vinning said, “we fear that this hostility could escalate, particularly if it appears that the rhetoric about Sikh extremism is endorsed by our own government.”

What appears to be the motivation behind these allegations of “rising Sikh extremism” is a desire to quash legitimate discussion of ongoing human rights abuses in India.  As Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have repeatedly reported, impunity for abusive policing remains a pressing concern in India, with chronic allegations of police brutality, extrajudicial killings, and torture.  Those speaking out against human rights violations in India are not extremists or radicals; they are part of a long, proud tradition in Canada of encouraging foreign states to improve their human rights practices

The WSO, on behalf of the Canadian Sikh community calls upon Minister Baird and the Canadian Government to defend the rights and reputation of Canadian Sikhs and ask that India provide evidence of the alleged “rise in Sikh extremism.”