Amid the ongoing row between India and Canada over the Khalistan issue, President of Hindu Sikh Global Forum, Tarvinder Singh Marwah said that Indian Sikhs stand with the tricolour and never support Khalistanis.
He also said that a true Sikh can never be a Khalistani.
"An entire generation had been destroyed during militancy. They were either killed or they migrated to other countries. Then they introduced drugs to ruin the life of our young generation. When they saw Punjab was thriving, they started with religious conversions. And now this new thing of attacking temples has started. This is wrong and unfortunate... We are here to tell you that we are all together. A true Sikh can never be a Khalistani. If they want a separate nation, they should keep it limited to themselves. We want our tricolor and our country to be respected at all times. India's Sikhs stand with India and do not support Khalistan," Marwah told ANI.
Members of the Hindu Sikh Global Forum in Delhi protested against the attack on a Hindu Temple in Canada. They were stopped by the security forces when they were marching towards the High Commission of Canada in Delhi.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had recently acknowledged the presence of Khalistan supporters in Canada but said they do not represent the Sikh community as a whole.
His comments came during Diwali celebrations at Ottawa’s Parliament Hill recently amid an ongoing diplomatic row with India over the killing of Khalistan extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
“There are many supporters of Khalistan in Canada, but they do not represent the Sikh Community as a whole. Similarly, there are supporters of Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi’s government in Canada, but they do not represent all Hindu Canadians,” Trudeau said.
The relations between the two countries came under severe strain following Trudeau's allegations in September last year of a "potential" involvement of Indian agents in Nijjar's killing.
New Delhi rejected Trudeau's charges as "absurd".
(With PTI inputs)