Ottawa:
Days after an attack on Hindus at a temple in Brampton, Canadian MP Chandra Arya has heavily criticized politicians who put Hindus and Sikhs on “opposing sides”, claiming that Hindu Canadians and Sikhs are on one side and the Khalistanis on the other. .
Due to the deliberate actions of some politicians and the influence of Khalistanis, Canadians are now wrongly equating Khalistanis with Sikhs, Arya said, in the wake of several Canadian politicians who tried to portray the Brampton incident as a clash between Canadian Hindus and Sikh communities.
Protesters carrying Khalistani flags clashed with devotees at a Hindu Sabha temple, disrupting an event co-hosted by temple authorities and the Indian Consulate on November 3 in Brampton, a city in Ontario's Greater Toronto Area.
“Politicians are deliberately avoiding recognizing and naming Khalistanis as responsible for this attack, or shifting the blame to other entities. They are misleading Canadians by framing this as a Hindu-Sikh issue,” Arya, a member of parliament from Nepean, Ontario, said in a post on X on Friday.
“Politicians portray Hindus and Sikhs as opposing sides regarding the attack on the temple by Khalistani extremists. This image is simply not true. The two parties are basically Hindu Canadians and the vast majority Sikh Canadians on one side, and Khalistanis on the other,” Arya said in the post on X, which included both a video and text statement.
Arya strongly condemned the attack by Khalistani extremists “on behalf of Hindu Canadians and the vast majority of Sikh Canadians” and also pointed out that it is common in Canada for Hindus to visit Sikh Gurudwaras and Sikhs to visit Hindu temples.
“Politicians can do their best to divide Hindus and Sikhs. We can – and must – prove them wrong,” he shouted. “We, as Hindus and Sikhs, will not and must not allow vested interests to divide us for their political gain.” Relations between India and Canada have come under serious strain following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations in September last year of a “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistan extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
New Delhi dismissed Trudeau's allegations as “absurd.” Nijjar, a Canadian citizen, was declared a terrorist by India.
India has maintained that the main issue between the two countries is that Canada should give space to pro-Khalistan elements operating with impunity from Canadian soil.
India has expelled six Canadian diplomats and withdrawn its high commissioner Sanjay Verma and other “targeted” officials from Canada after strongly rejecting Ottawa's charges.
Arya, who has previously spoken out on the issue, also mentioned Sikh community leader and former Prime Minister of British Columbia Ujjal Dosanjh, who said that a silent majority of Sikhs want nothing to do with Khalistan and that they just don't want to. do not speak out because they fear violence and violent repercussions.
Dosanjh said Khalistani followers control many of the Gurudwaras in Canada, but the silent Sikhs “still have the power over which politicians are elected,” Arya said.
“As a result of the deliberate actions of some politicians and the influence of Khalistanis, Canadians are now wrongly equating Khalistanis with Sikhs,” he said, adding that both Hindus and Sikhs must teach Canadians “that we are united in our fight against Khalistani extremists and their political leaders.” donors.” He also appealed to Hindus and Sikhs in Canada to urge community leaders “not to give a platform to politicians at any of our events or temples unless they publicly acknowledge and expressly condemn 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 recently during Diwali celebrations on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, amid an ongoing diplomatic row with India over Nijjar's killing.
“There are many Khalistan supporters in Canada, but they do not represent the Sikh community as a whole. Likewise, there are supporters of Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi's government in Canada, but they do not represent all Hindu Canadians,” Trudeau said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Our staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
