New York: India has condemned the “official citation” made in the General Assembly in the state of Connecticut, recognizing the 36th anniversary of the declaration of ‘Khalistan’, saying “vested interests seek to divide communities, and promote bigotry and hatred. Their agenda of violence has no place in democratic societies like the US and India”.
The Consulate General of India in New York tweeted a statement, saying the Embassy of India in Washington DC, and the Consulate General of India in New York would take up this issue appropriately with US lawmakers. BJP spokesperson RP Singh, in New Delhi, flagged the issue and termed the move as “highly condemnable”.
In the “official citation” dated April 29, the Connecticut general assembly congratulated the pro-Khalistan organization World Sikh Parliament “in recognition of the 36th anniversary of the declaration of Sikh independence”.
Meanwhile, influential Indian-American groups have now urged the Connecticut State Assembly to rescind its official citation. Scores of Indian-American groups and powerful community leaders have been writing letters to the members of the Connecticut State Assembly and its leadership underlining that such a citation questions the territorial integrity of India, and undermines a growing India-US relationship.
Federation of Indian Association (FIA) in Tri-State (New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut) urged the elected members of the General Assembly of Connecticut to “mitigate this very sad and unfortunate action” and take the needed steps to “promptly rectify this illegitimate act of supporting subversive activities.” Ankur Vaidya, chairman of FIA, hoped that the facts will be checked, and that truth will prevail in the General Assembly of Connecticut.
The Association of Indians in America, New York said that this “outrageous” citation is an affront to India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Global Organization for People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) International, called on the Connecticut Assembly to put out a statement disassociating itself from the citation.
