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'Turnout less than 2,000': Khalistan referendum in London a damp squib
The Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), which organised the referendum, failed to get even 100-150 voters in the first half and various outfits associated with the Khalistan movement pressed their workers to come and vote, said UK watchers.
The Khalistan referendum, which was held in London on Sunday, turned out to be a damp squib. According to UK watchers, the claims of high turnout in the voting to decide whether Khalistan should be carved out of Punjab is being projected by Pakistani media.
A majority of the voters were backed by Pakistan, the people cited above said, adding that the total number was less than 2,000.
The Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), which organised the referendum, failed to get even 100-150 voters in the first half and various outfits associated with the Khalistan movement - like Federation of Sikh organization (FSO) and World Sikh Parliament (WSP) - pressed their workers to come and vote, said UK watchers. SFJ is a banned organisation in India.
The organisers had pressed into service buses to ferry people from different parts of the UK, but even they couldn't bring a large number of people, said the people cited above.
The UK watchers further said that there were just 53 buses, which brought people from different parts of the UK to the voting centre. The location was Westminster in central London, but not even 50 people turned up with their private vehicles, they said.
The diplomats based in London said that there was no verification if the persons arriving for the referendum were Sikhs, Pakistanis or Afghans. Coverage of the event also showed that the same set of people were brought in to vote repeatedly, they added.
The SFJ had called all the Sikhs above the age of 18 to vote in the referendum. Those who indeed came to take part in the exercise shouted pro-Khalistan slogans and carried the Khalistan flag.
