US-based Sikh extremist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun released a video on Tuesday urging pro-Khalistani elements to infiltrate the ongoing farmers' protest in India.
Pannun, a designated terrorist in India, asked people to raise Khalistani flags at the rallies.
This is not the first time Khalistani elements have tried to make inroads through farmer protests; in 2020, Pannun and Khalistani supporters shared radical videos on social media about similar labor actions. At that time, protesting farmers categorically rejected any such support.
"Most of them [protesters] are unaware of what Khalistan stands for or what their flags look like. One can't raise doubt on them," Roshan Lal, a senior journalist from Punjab, told Sputnik India.
Meanwhile, in another viral video, a man is heard chanting for a separate Khalistan state.
The farmers are currently protesting a series of demands, including a minimum support price (MSP) for their crops - a follow-up to their 2020 protest in which they had camped at the border points for 13 months.
"The journalist also opined that the Khalistan idea in India is dead, and one won't find many supporters for the cause. There can be a handful of radical elements who often connect Punjab with Khalistan," Lal explained.
The Punjab High Court also intervened in the matter and asked states to identify a designated area for the farmers while urging the parties to solve the dispute. The matter will be now heard on February 15.