Concern over Sikh group’s proximity to US lawmakers

WASHINGTON: A marginalised Sikh group, which in the past had known supporters of Khalistan, has gained access to the powerful corridors of the Capitol Hill piggybacking on the issue of hate crime that the community is facing in the US.

When more than two dozen lawmakers announced the formation of the first- ever Sikh American Congressional Caucus last week at the Capitol Hill, the presence of a number of individuals and representatives of organisations, who in the past have openly supported Khalistan, raised eyebrows among the friends of India in Washington.

“Sikhs who were present at the Sikh Congressional Caucus event in Washington were of pro-Khalistan ideology,” Dalwinder Singh Dhoot, chairman of California-based North America Punjabi Association (NAPA), said in a statement.

A number of eminent Sikh American organisations, including NAPA, were not invited either to the announcement ceremony on April 24 or at the reception held at the Capitol Hill. There was also no representation from the Indian embassy.

“Neither did we have any information about this Caucus nor were we invited to attend the event due to reasons unknown to them ( organisers),” NAPA spokesman Satnam Singh Chahal, said, adding that it seemed that the 28 US Congressmen who were its founding members had been “taken for a ride” by this proKhalistan group. “Yes, yes, yes,” Chahal told PTI when asked if the Congressmen “have been deceived” by this pro-Khalistan group.

“It is a big mystery as to why the majority of the Sikh community were kept out of this,” he said.

The bipartisan Caucus is cochaired by Congresswoman Judy Chu from the Democratic Party and David Valadao from the Republican Party.