British Sikh Association chairman Lord Ranger and Labour MP Preet Kaur Gill went into a war of words on social media regarding Khalistan movement.
Rami Ranger tweeted on August 7 and said, “Today, I spoke with the British Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Boris Johnson MP @BorisJohnson who categorically assured me that British Govt does not support Khalistan movement. Thank you PM.”
Labour MP Preet Gill responded to this tweet and said, “The principle of self-determination is prominently embodied in Article I of the Charter of the United Nations. It is positioned as the first right in the twin Human Rights Covenants (the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights [ICCPR] and [ICESCR]. Most concerning!”
Lord Ranger replied, “Logically people fight election on a clear manifesto so that majority of electorate can endorse their plan. No one can get self determination on Twitter.” Ranger’s original tweet according to him was in response to reports about the Punjab Referendum 2020.
The Sikh Federation of the UK joined in support of Gill and tweeted,”Sikhs have a legal & historical right to their own homeland, the British signed treaties with the Sikh Kingdom which are valid today! The betrayal of the British & Gandhi/ Neru Congress in 1947 is the reason for ongoing Sikh revolutionary movements! They won’t stop until FREEDOM!” The federation also added, “The no. of Sikhs living in west punjab (Pakistan) is very limited, compared to the c.25m in East Punjab. It’s obvious the freedom movement would start there, especially given the Multiple state sponsored Sikh genocides! Disappointingly these facts are ignored by academics!”
The British Sikh Association replied, “It will be sensible to go to Punjab to form ‘The Khalistan Party’ with a clear manifesto to establish an independent State for the Sikhs. To start with you must renounce your British Passport and shift to Punjab to demonstrate how serious you are.”
Asian Voice exclusively spoke to Lord Rami Ranger to put forward his thoughts on this social media controversy. When asked about his discussion that Thursday with PM Boris Johnson and whether it was only about Khalistan or not, he said, “I had asked the Prime Minister to make his opposition clear on the Khalistan movement based in the UK as the Canadian Govt has done. He replied that the British Govt did not support the Khalistan movement.” Ranger also clarified that the PM did not mention anything about Operation Blue Star.
Reacting to Preet Kaur Gill’s criticism he said, “Preet Gill is confused. She thinks that the Khalistani movement is for protecting the human rights of the Sikhs in India and not a separatist movement.”
The Labour Party is believed to have moved away from the Khalistani movement under its new leadership. Lord Ranger said, “I hope so, but I have no proof.”
The celebration of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya has been under scrutiny for allegedly giving out the wrong message to the Sikh community thereby implying that India is a nation for Hindus only. Sharing his opinion on this matter, he said, “No, it doesn’t as Ram Mandir has put right of the wrong of the Mughul Emperor. It is a sacred place for the Hindus and a due process in the court has granted the Hindus the right to rebuild Ram Mandir where it once was.”
