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NEW DELHI — Ahead of the 75th Republic Day, the outlawed Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) has announced that it is going to start Khalistan referendum voter registration in India, and will spend $1 million to promote it in the national capital.
Calling the Tiranga (Tricolour) as their target, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, leader of the radical outfit, said in a fresh video released on Friday that January 26 is going to be a "D-Day" in Delhi.
"On 26th January, we are going to start Khalistan voter registration in India...the target is Tiranga. Twenty-Sixth January is going to be D-Day in Delhi. We are going to spend $1 million to raise Khalistan flag in Delhi," Pannun, the SFJ's legal counsel, said.
Declared as a designated terrorist in 2020 by India under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), Pannun also targeted French President Emmanuel Macron who will be visiting the country as Chief Guest for the celebrations.
"This is going to be a show for French President Macron," Pannun said, admonishing the leader for "aiding and assisting" Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Asking the people in Delhi to "stay home and stay safe", the Sikh rebel said: "People of Delhi, we have nothing against you... The fight is between the pro-Khalistan Sikhs and this Modi regime."
On Monday, Pannun called for the shutdown of airports from Amritsar to Ayodhya ahead of the January 22 Ram Temple Pran Pratishtha ceremony.
He also exhorted Muslims in the country to "oppose" the ceremony, and urged them to carve out ‘Urduistan’ from India.
While the US claims to have shielded him from a purported assassination by Indian agents, he is wanted in nearly two dozen cases, including some of terrorism and sedition in India.
In September 2023, his properties in Amritsar and Chandigarh cities were seized by the NIA, which also charged him and his separatist organisation under several sections of the Indian Penal Code and the UAPA on November 20, 2023.
Following the NIA charges, the radical Sikh and his secessionist group gave a call to pro-Khalistan elements to “picket” Air India’s outbound flights from the airports in the Canadian cities of Toronto and Vancouver on December 1, 2023.
Also read: Khalistan case will test the durability of India’s ties with America