Over 60,000 American Sikhs took part in Khalistan Referendum second phase voting on Sunday in a historic event organised by the secessionist group Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, under the protection of US snipers and police.
Earlier, over 127,000 US Sikhs had voted for the referendum in the first phase for the first time on US soil on January 28, just weeks after the US government announced it had prevented the Indian state from assassinating on US soil the prominent pro-Khalistan leader and India’s most wanted man, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
Several thousand Sikhs were unable to cast their votes in the first phase.
Pannun, Attorney at Law and General Counsel to SFJ paid tribute to “Shaheed Kaunke who worked tirelessly for the cause of the right to self-determination of Sikhs”.
Pannun added that Gurdev Singh Kaunke was martyred because he was devoted to the cause of Khalistan and wanted Sikhs to have their homeland. Pannun said Sikhs have followed the path of Kaunke and gave their lives for the rights of Sikhs, including noted UK-based Sikh leader Paramjeet Singh Pamma who has spent time in jail in Europe on an Indian extradition warrant.
“We are calling for the ‘political death’ of Modi, through democratic means. The Indian state is involved in the genocide of Sikhs. Sikhs will do everything in their power to end Indian hegemony and establish their own homeland.”
The Punjab Referendum Commission announced a new date for the Khalistan Referendum, which is scheduled to take place on July 28, 2024 in Calgary, Canada.
