On April 29 (local time), an embarrassing situation occurred for the Khalistani elements in London as no one turned up for the protest they had called for outside the Indian High Commission office. The protest was called against the report submitted by Colin Bloom, an independent faith engagement adviser, where he used the word “Sikh extremism”.
The report was published on April 26. Bloom was appointed by former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to provide recommendations to the Secretary of State for Communities on how the government should engage with the faith groups in England.
As per the India Today report, despite the call for protests on April 29 on various social media platforms, none turned up. Speaking to the media house, UK police said they were aware of the protests and stationed police personnel outside the HCI office. There was constant patrolling, and police vehicles were on standby. However, protesters did not turn up.
Speaking to India Today, the Minister of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr Jitendra Singh, said, “Khalistanis are lost people who have no idea of the teachings of Guru Nanak. Most of the Sikh communities here (in the UK) do not support them. We are a peace-loving community, and we love India.”
No Khalistani protestors turned up outside HCI London despite the social media flyer on call for protest. Watch this report for more details. #ReporterDiary (@LoveenaTandon) pic.twitter.com/70BiO6EXSg
— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) April 29, 2023
In a video report published by London correspondent Loveena Tandon for India Today, police vans could be seen outside the HCI office, but the place where protesters usually stand was empty.
Protests outside HCI office after Amritpal Singh’s arrest
Notably, there were protests outside the HCI office after Punjab Police and central agencies launched a crackdown on pro-Khalistan separatist preacher Amritpal Singh. During the protests, Khalistani elements tried to pull down Indian National Flag. India registered a strong protest against the incident and in the aftermath security from British Embassy in India was removed. The British government swung into action and initiated a probe into the matter.
