Sikh rights group to protest against PM Narendra Modi's Canada visit

NEW YORK: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Canada next week, a Sikh rights group has said that it will hold a demonstration in Toronto to protest the alleged discrimination against Canadian Sikhs by the Indian government.

New York-based Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) said it will hold a rally on April 15 coinciding with Modi's expected visit to the Humber Bay Park memorial in Toronto to pay tribute to the victims of the 1985 Air India Kanishka bombing that killed 329 people.

The SFJ said in the demonstration hundreds of community members would converge at the memorial site to protest the move by the Indian government to pressurise Canada to curb Sikh nationalist activities.

SFJ Legal Advisor Gurpatwant Singh Pannun said that Modi's visit to the Kanishka memorial site would be a "dishonor to the victims."

The group is also petitioning Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to press Modi to recognise Sikhs' rights in India.