Alex Bhathal, the Greens candidate for the high stakes Batman constituency has clarified her position on the demand for a separate state for Sikhs within the Indian Punjab.
Ms Bhathal – a social worker-turned politician – says she has never supported the creation of a separate Sikh state.
“Like representatives from other parties (ALP, Libs and independents), I have supported the Sikh community when they commemorate the deaths of many Sikhs in India during the 1984 riots.
“But I also condemn Indira Gandhi’s assassination and I have not and do not advocate for a separate Khalistani State to be created,” Ms Bhathal said in a statement.
Ms Bhathal has regularly attended the annual Sikh Genocide Remembrance Marches in Melbourne during the recent years, and called for justice for thousands of Sikhs killed in the 1984 anti-Sikh carnage in Delhi that followed the assassination of the then Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards.
Ms Bhathal says she is proud of her Indian heritage.
“I am committed to bringing together Sikhs and Hindus rather than dividing us,” she said.
Her statement has come just days before the crucial Batman by-election on 17th March.
Her office said the statement was a part of party’s “series of announcements” on “a range of positions and policies” as the election day approaches.
“We believe it's important for voters to know where our candidates stand on a range of issues so that they can cast an informed vote on Election Day,” her office said.
But former Deputy Mayor of Wyndham Council, Gautam Gupta says he was instrumental in getting Ms Bhathal to lay out her position.
“Because I endorsed Alex’s [Bhathal] candidature, and she had a particular position which some people felt was supportive of Sikh separatist movement and they asked me to withdraw my endorsement.
“I then spoke to her and asked her to clarify her position, whether she supports [the separatist movement] or she doesn’t. Either way, I told her it’s important to make it clear,” Mr Gupta told SBS Punjabi.
Ms Bhathal did not respond to SBS Punjabi's questions about Mr Gupta’s role and whether the Green’s party leadership got involved before she released the statement on Monday.
During the run-up to the 2016 Federal election, Ms Bhathal was targeted with 'racist anti-Sikh' flyers that claimed Ms Bhathal was a support of the “Khalistan terrorist movement” to create a “racist” nation in Punjab.
