New Delhi, Aug 13: Describing the pro-Khalistan rally in London by the Sikhs as a conspiracy to divide the country, the Congress on Monday questioned the Narendra Modi-led government's silence on it.

"As a sinister conspiracy is hatched to revive militancy in Punjab, why are BJP-Akali Dal mum? Why has the 56' Modi government been stunned into a conspiratorial silence? Isn't it a conspiracy to break the country? Why silence then?" Congress spokesman Pradeep Singh Surjewala said in a tweet attaching a news report about the pro-Khalistan rally.

The Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a human rights advocacy group with radical leanings, held what it calls a "London Declaration" on an independence referendum for Punjab at Trafalgar Square in London on Sunday.

Thousands of Sikhs and their supporters gathered to demand a 'Referendum 2020' campaign in Punjab.

They also brandished banners reading "Free Punjab, End Indian occupation", "Punjab Referendum 2020 for Khalistan" and "We will re-establish Punjab as an independent country".

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Imphal (PTI): The mortal remains of two children, who were killed in a bomb attack in Manipur's Bishnupur district in April, were handed over to family members on Saturday, officials said.

The bodies of the five-year-old boy and his six-month-old sister were kept in the morgue for 25 days, as the family members had refused to accept the mortal remains, demanding that the perpetrators be brought to book at the earliest.

On April 25, Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh had appealed to the family members of the children to accept the bodies. Singh had also said that all efforts were underway to find the culprits.

The two children were killed in a bomb attack at Tronglaobi in Bishnupur district on April 7. Their bodies were kept in the morgue at the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal.

The incident had triggered widespread violent protests in the five valley districts of Manipur, and the case was subsequently handed over to the NIA.

Hundreds of people lined up along the way to Tronglaobi to offer floral tributes, as the mortal remains were taken for the last rites in an open vehicle earlier in the day.