PM Modi condemns 'deliberate' attack on Hindu temple in Canada, slams 'cowardly attempts to intimidate' diplomats

Ensure justice and uphold the rule of law, Modi asked Trudeau govt.

New Delhi: After Khalistani Sikh extremists clashed with the devotees near a temple run by the Hindu Sabha at Brampton in Canada, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday led the Government of India to condemn the “deliberate attack” and to ask Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s administration in Ottawa to uphold the rule of law.

The extremists waving the flags of ‘Khalistan’ clashed with the devotees when the High Commission of India in Ottawa organised a consular camp in association with the Hindu Sabha at Brampton in Canada. The camp was one of the several organised by New Delhi’s missions in Ottawa, Vancouver, and Toronto to issue life certificates to the Indian and Indian Canadian pensioners.

The Khalistani Sikh activists also protested against a camp held at a gurdwara in South Vancouver. A clash between the devotees and the extremists also led to the arrest of some people from near the Laxmi Narayan Temple at Surrey in the British Columbia province of the North American country.

“I strongly condemn the deliberate attack on a Hindu temple in Canada. Equally appalling are the cowardly attempts to intimidate our diplomats,” Modi posted on X on Monday. “Such acts of violence will never weaken India’s resolve. We expect the Canadian government to ensure justice and uphold the rule of law.”

"The acts of violence at the Hindu Sabha Mandir in Brampton today are unacceptable. Every Canadian has the right to practice their faith freely and safely. Thank you to the Peel Regional Police for swiftly responding to protect the community and investigate this incident," Trudeau said in a post on X on Monday. The local police said on Monday that three people had been “arrested and criminally charged” in the wake of the attack and investigation had been initiated into “several acts of unlawfulness”.

The High Commission of India in Ottawa said that it had requested the authorities in Canada well in advance to provide strong security measures for the consular camps.

“It is deeply disappointing to see such disruptions being allowed for routine consular work being organised by our consulates with the fullest cooperation of local co-organisers. We also remain very concerned for the safety of applicants, including Indian nationals, on whose demand such events are organised in the first place. Despite these efforts by anti-India elements, our consulate was able to issue more than 1000 life certificates to the Indian and Canadian applicants,” New Delhi’s diplomatic mission in Ottawa said in a statement.

The series of incidents of protests by the Khalistani Sikh extremists and attacks on the devotees of the Hindu Sabha Mandir and consular officials of the Government of India in Canada took place even as the relations between New Delhi and Ottawa hit a new low last year.

The Trudeau government recently accused New Delhi’s envoy to Ottawa, Sanjay Kumar Verma, and his five colleagues of having a role in the June 18, 2023, killing of Khalistani Sikh extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who had managed to secure citizenship in Canada despite being one of the most wanted fugitive terrorists of India.

New Delhi withdrew Verma and its other diplomats in the North American country after denying Ottawa’s request for waiving their diplomatic immunity and making them available for questioning by the police investigators in connection with the murder of Nijjar.

India also retaliated by expelling six diplomats of Canada.

“In light of these incidents, and with the continued threats posed to the Indian diplomats and officials, local venue organisers as well as local attendees, organisation of further scheduled consular camps will be contingent on security arrangements made for them by local authorities,” the High Commission of India in Ottawa said on Monday – a day after the attacks on its camp at Hindu Sabha Mandir.

Chandra Arya, a Kannada-Canadian member of the parliament of the North American country, said that a red line had been crossed by the Khalistanis with the attack on the Hindu Sabha Mandir. He said that the attack showed how deep and brazen Khalistani violent extremism in Canada has become. “I begin to feel that there is a small grain of truth in the reports that in addition to Canadian political apparatus, Khalistanis have effectively infiltrated into our law enforcement agencies,” he said, adding: “No wonder that under the 'freedom of expression', Khalistani extremists are getting a free pass in Canada.”

“As I have been saying for long, Hindu-Canadians, for the security and safety of our community, need to step up and assert their rights and hold politicians accountable,” he added in a post on X.