Khalistani supporters disrupted Vaisakhi festival [ Adelaide, Australia ]

[ Reported as seen ]

On Saturday, April 1, 2023, Khalistani supporters disrupted an event organised to celebrate the Vaisakhi festival in Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It was organised by he ‘Punjabi Aussie Association of South Australia’. The Consulate General of India to Sydney, Manish Gupta, was invited as the chief guest.

Reportedly, a Hindu-Sikh couple, Harmeet Kaur and Rajesh Thakur, have been organising the festival for several years, but for the last two years, they have been receiving threats from Khalsa Aid for organising the event.

On Friday, March 31, the couple claimed that they were threatened with physical violence and their business destroyed by the dubious organisation Khalsa Aid for organizing the inclusive Vaisakhi fair. The couple claimed that they have also received boycott calls from one Sarabjit Singh Pipli on social media.

Harmeet Kaur revealed that it was the Khalistani supporters who were threatening her. She added that Sarabjit Singh Pipli told him over the call that he won’t tolerate any ‘insult in the name of Vaisakhi’ and the festival is an ‘insult to the Singhs’.

Last year, the couple reported another threat which came from the organisation Khalsa Aid’s South Australian coordinator Gurinderjit Singh Jassar. Thakur claimed Jassar said, “Vaisakhi belongs to us [Sikhs]”. When Thakur refused to call off the festival Jassar got aggressive over the call and accused him of sexualising the festival.