New Delhi, June 30 (IANS) Elections in Punjab are slated to be held in February next year, but the poll fever in the state is already high. As political parties gear up to face the elections, a major disinformation campaign in the state is being planned by the Sikhs for Justice (SFJ).

The SFJ which is a proscribed entity, is the mouthpiece and propaganda wing of the Khalistan movement.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that these outfits have become desperate. The official said while these elements would continue with their low-intensity blast strategy, an outfit such as the SFJ would look to spread false narratives and then incite tensions in the state.

With countries like Canada and the United Kingdom cracking down heavily on Khalistani extremism, the SFJ has become desperate. The SFJ has not been able to hold referendums like it used to do with ease in the past. Further, Canada has passed an anti-hate Bill which makes it hard for groups such as SFJ to pass off hate messages against India as free speech.

Another official said that the SFJ has been relatively quiet for some weeks now. However, there is information that the terror outfit is planning a major disinformation campaign in Punjab. It would look to spread falsehoods and also look to incite communal tensions by putting out anti-Sikh content.

The official added that the outfit would also post religious content with its own interpretation so that it would be taken out of context. This is bound to create tensions in the state.

Considering that the elections are being held in Punjab, which is a border state, security would be tighter than normal. The security agencies are already under a lot of stress as there are multiple threats that they have to deal with.

The state police is busy with shutting down pro-Khalistan elements while also dealing with the drug menace.

On the border, the forces are countering the numerous drones that come in with drugs and arms and ammunition. Further, infiltration too is attempted from Pakistan repeatedly and this is another area that the border forces have to focus on.

Officials say that both the border forces and state police are already stressed. In the run up to the elections more forces will be deployed to ensure that the polls pass off peacefully.

The SFJ would look to take advantage of the situation and stress out the security mechanism by trying to incite communal tensions.

Officials say that in addition to the disinformation campaign, the SFJ is also trying to rope in some youth in Punjab to put up posters that are inflammatory.

During the protests and referendums that the SFJ organised abroad in the past, the speeches were anti-Modi and targeted Operation Blue Star while commemorating those who assassinated late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

An official said that one could expect such content to start floating around in Punjab soon.

These would not be one off attempts, but a series of them would be made.

Officials say that the Punjab Project is an ambitious one for the ISI. The Pakistani spy agency has been pressurising the Khalistani groups including the SFJ to scale up operations.

The SFJ in particular has been under immense pressure and its leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has been pulled up by the ISI for failing to scale up the propaganda.

Looking at the developments and the desperation that has set in, the SFJ has been planning a well-oiled disinformation campaign ahead of the Punjab elections, an official said.

–IANS

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