Khalistani protests: As pro-Khalistani protests were reported to be carried out in Canada and the UK, members of the Indian community in Toronto came out in significant numbers outside the Indian consulate in Toronto to counter a Khalistani protest by waving the tricolour.
The counter-protest led by the Indian community members was aimed towards protecting their diplomats and the consulate office, ANI reported. They were seen raising slogans like 'Bharat Mata ki Jai', 'Vande Mataram', 'Long Live India' and 'Khalistan Murdabad', along with placards denouncing the Khalistani demonstrations.
The Khalistani demonstrators were seen disrespecting the Tricolour in a purported video.
"We are trying to stop Khalistanis nonsense here and we are here for the solidarity of India and Canada, altogether. They are giving wrong information saying that they will kill our diplomats which is... and we are totally against that," said Sunil Arora, one of the Indian diaspora members.
Another member of the Indian community, Vidya Bhushan Dhar, mentioned that Canada is a peaceful country and appealed to the government to take cognisance of the issue. "This is for sure not a freedom of expression," he said, referring to the Khalistani demonstrations.
Similar protests have been planned in the United States and the UK over the death of Canada-based Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar. A planned Khalistani protest rally outside the Indian High Commission in London received a cold response as only a handful of protesters joined the protest on Saturday, amid visible police presence in the area.
According to reports, the protest had a relatively low-key turnout with only 30-40 protesters, using controversial posters including pictures of the Indian High Commissioner Vikram Doraiswami and Consul General of India in Birmingham Dr Shashank Vikram. The protest wrapped up sooner than expected amid heavy police presence.
Earlier this week, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that posters that call for violence against Indian diplomats and missions are "unacceptable", while speaking about activities carried out by Khalistani elements in Canada and the United Kingdom. "In the name of freedom of expression, space to the terrorist elements should not be given and we are very serious in resolution of this issue," he said.
Earlier, a Khalistani poster has sparked outrage across India by calling India's High Commissioner to Ottawa Sanjay Kumar Verma and Consul General in Toronto Apoorva Srivastava as "killers" of Nijjar.
It came a month after Khalistanis, marking the 39th anniversary of Operation Blue Star, put up a tableau of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi with blood on her clothes and a poster that read, "Revenge of attack on Shri Darbar Sahib".
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