Days after the attack on Hindus at the Brampton temple, Canadian MP Chandra Arya strongly criticized politicians for putting Hindus and Sikhs on “opposing sides” and said that Hindu-Canadians and Sikhs are on one side and Khalistanis are on the other. ,
Due to the deliberate actions of some politicians and the influence of Khalistanis, Canadians are now mistakenly equating Khalistanis with Sikhs, Arya said, adding that many Canadian politicians are portraying the Brampton incident as a conflict between the Canadian Hindu and Sikh communities. Trying to.
Protesters carrying Khalistani flags clashed with devotees at a Hindu Sabha temple and disrupted an event co-organized by temple authorities and the Indian Consulate in Brampton, a city in Ontario’s Greater Toronto Area, on November 3.
“Politicians are deliberately avoiding blaming and mentioning the Khalistanis for this attack or placing the blame on other entities. They are misleading Canadians by making this an issue between Hindus and Sikhs,” Arya, Member of Parliament for Nepean, Ontario, said in a post on Twitter on Friday.
“Politicians are portraying Hindus and Sikhs as opposing sides regarding the attack on the temple by Khalistani extremists. This picture is not true at all. Both sides are actually Hindu-Canadians and there are a large number of Sikh-Canadians on one side, and Khalistanis on the other side,” Arya said in the post on X that included both a video and a text statement.
Strongly condemning the attack by Khalistani extremists “on behalf of the vast majority of Hindu-Canadians and Sikh-Canadians”, Arya also pointed out that it is common in Canada to see Hindus visiting Sikh Gurudwaras and Sikhs visiting Hindu temples.
“Politicians may try their best to divide Hindus and Sikhs. We can—and must—prove them wrong,” he appealed. “We, as Hindus and Sikhs, will not and must not allow vested interests to divide us for their own political gain.” Relations between India and Canada have come under severe strain following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations of “possible” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistan extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in September last year.
New Delhi dismissed Trudeau’s allegations as “absurd”. Canadian citizen Nijjar was declared a terrorist by India.
India has been saying that the main issue between the two countries is Canada’s exemption of pro-Khalistan elements operating from Canadian soil.
India has expelled six Canadian diplomats and recalled its High Commissioner Sanjay Verma and other “targeted” officials from Canada after strongly rejecting Ottawa’s allegations.
Arya, who has been vocal on the issue in the past, also mentioned Sikh community leader and former Prime Minister of British Columbia Ujjal Dosanjh, who had said that the silent majority of Sikhs want nothing to do with Khalistan and they Let’s just do this. They don’t speak out because they fear violence and violent consequences.
Dosanjh said Khalistani supporters have control over many gurdwaras in Canada, but the silent Sikhs “still hold the power over which politicians are elected,” Arya said.
“Due to the deliberate actions of some politicians and the influence of Khalistanis, Canadians are now mistakenly equating Khalistanis with Sikhs,” he said. He also appealed to Hindus and Sikhs in Canada to urge community leaders not to “provide platforms to politicians at any of our events or temples unless they publicly recognize Khalistani extremism.” Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has acknowledged the presence of Khalistan supporters in Canada, but said they do not represent the Sikh community as a whole.
His comments came during recent Diwali celebrations at Parliament Hill in Ottawa amid the ongoing diplomatic row with India over Nijjar’s killing.
“There are many supporters of Khalistan in Canada, but they do not represent the Sikh community as a whole. Similarly, in Canada the Prime Minister (Narendra) is supportive of Modi’s government, but he does not represent all Hindu Canadians,” Trudeau said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
