Few politicians attended Surrey's annual Vaisakhi parade Saturday after organizers of the Sikh celebration again displayed photos of violent militants they consider martyrs.

Spectators gathered in Surrey to watch the parade.
(Terry Milewski/CBC)

The parade, which marks the Sikh new year, usually attracts a slew of political figures, including the premier, MPs and the mayor.

Liberal, Conservative and New Democrat politicians who attended the parade last year, however, faced political embarrassment after it was revealed a photo of alleged Air India bombing mastermind Talwinder Singh Parmar was displayed on a float.

Last week, Surrey city officials sent letters to politicians warning them the parade would again include controversial images.

B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell announced earlier he wouldn't attend because he would be on Vancouver Island. Campbell said his absence wasn't connected to the parade controversy.

New Democrat MP Penny Priddy did attend, but said she didn't approve of the contentious pictures. She spoke to the crowd from a separate stage set up by a local Punjabi radio station.  

New Democrat MP Penny Priddy spoke from a separate stage set up by a local Punjabi radio station.
(Terry Milewski/CBC)

"It spoils it. It puts this negative cloud over it and that shouldn't be. It's not right," said Priddy.

Surrey Mayor Diane Watts refused to appear alongside parade organizers, as she usually does.

"I just won't be participating in any of the events on stage," she said.

Liberal MP Sukh Dhaliwal was the only federal politician to speak from the main stage.

While Parmar's photo was not displayed on a parade float this year, organizers did set up a separate tent on the grounds of the Dasmesh Darbar temple for a controversial display that included photographs of the founders of the Babbar Khalsa and the International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF), groups Canada considers terrorist organizations.

Parade organizers say the display is meant to remind people of how Sikhs were treated in India and why there are calls for a separate Sikh homeland called Khalistan.

Liberal MP Sukh Dhaliwal declined to criticize the photos.
(Terry Milewski/CBC)

Saudager Singh Sandhu, the president of the Dashmesh Darbar temple who called Parmar a "great man" last year, declined Saturday to talk about the photos.

"I don't want to talk about the pictures," he said, instead inviting everyone to come watch the parade.