Organizers of an unofficial worldwide referendum on Punjabi independence have added a question to the ballot in British Columbia asking if IndiaB次元官网网址檚 high commissioner was responsible for the killing of a prominent provincial Sikh leader in June.
The group Sikhs for Justice, which has been staging a series of non-binding votes in several countries on the independence issue, says the first stage of balloting in B.C. on Sunday attracted more than 135,000 voters.
It says the second stage will be held on Oct. 29 and will add a second question about whether High Commissioner Sanjay Verma was responsible for the B次元官网网址渁ssassinationB次元官网网址� of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Police say NijjarB次元官网网址檚 death has not been connected to foreign interference.
The Sikh independence movement has angered IndiaB次元官网网址檚 government, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing B次元官网网址渟trong concernsB次元官网网址� to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about CanadaB次元官网网址檚 handling of the issue.
Nijjar, who was a strong supporter of an independent Sikh homeland known as Khalistan, was gunned down outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, B.C., on June 18.
Homicide investigators have said they are seeking two B次元官网网址渉eavy-setB次元官网网址� gunmen and the driver of a getaway car, a silver 2008 Toyota Camry.
The killing prompted protests outside Indian consulates and accusations of foreign involvement in the murder.
IndiaB次元官网网址檚 Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement that Modi told Trudeau on the sidelines of last weekendB次元官网网址檚 G20 summit in New Delhi that progress in the countriesB次元官网网址� relationship required B次元官网网址渕utual respect and trust.B次元官网网址�
The statement said Modi expressed strong concerns about B次元官网网址渃ontinuing anti-India activities of extremist elements in Canada.B次元官网网址�
It said the Sikh movement was B次元官网网址減romoting secessionism and inciting violenceB次元官网网址� against Indian diplomats, and called on Canada to work with India on what New Delhi said was a threat to the Canadian Indian diaspora.
Voting in the referendum on Sunday was held at the gurdwara where Nijjar was killed, and will be conducted there again next month.
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