SGPC seeks apology from UK home secretary Priti Patel over her 'Sikh extremism' remarks

AMRITSAR: Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (

SGPC

) has written to British high commissioner

Alex Ellis

regarding the alleged remarks by the United Kingdom home secretary

Priti Patel

against Sikhs, seeking an apology from her.

In a release issued here on Saturday, SGPC president advocate Harjinder Singh

Dhami

said that they had objected to Patel’s statement on "Sikh separatist extremism". “The issue was brought to the notice of the SGPC by Sikh organisations in the UK.”

According to the release, Patel, in her address to Heritage Foundation in Washington DC on November 19, 2021, had stated that “Sikh separatist extremism has also caused considerable tensions in recent years".

"The statement by Priti Patel is tarnishing the image of the Sikh community. The Sikhs in the UK have a long history of integrating and contributing positively to the UK. Sikhs all over the world have achieved high positions in different countries due to their hard work but the propaganda being spread by the leaders like Priti Patel is motivated to tarnish the image of the Sikh community,” said Dhami, adding Patel should apologise and withdraw her unsubstantiated statement.