The Canadian authorities recently withdrew permission for the organizers of the Khalistan Referendum to hold voting at a public school after concerns were raised over promotional materials featuring an AK-47 machine gun.

The event was scheduled to be held at the Tamanawis Secondary School in Surrey, British Columbia, on September 10.

The Surrey District School Board cancelled the rental agreement due to a violation of their policies, reports Hindustan Times.

The referendum sought to establish an independent Sikh state Punjab.

India has expressed its displeasure over the use of Canadian territory for the separatist referendum, reported the Indian newspaper.

Issuing a release, a spokesperson for the Surrey District School Board said they had cancelled a community rental of one of their schools due to a violation of their rental agreement.

Meanwhile, a poster of the event had gone viral where both an AK-47 machine gun as well as a kirpan, alongside the image of the school, could be seen.

“Despite repeated attempts to address the issue, the event organizers failed to remove these concerning images, and materials continued to be posted throughout Surrey and on social media,” the release was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.