An Indian-origin Hindu member of the Canadian parliament on Thursday (Oct 17) called for Ottawa to recognize the threat Hindu Canadians face at the hands of Khalistani extremism in the country.
Ties between India and Canada are sour amid the ongoing Khalistan-Nijjar row. Canadian MP Chandra Arya urged the Justin Trudeau government to “collaborate with other affected countries to protect” its citizens through a video statement on X.
He revealed that just last week, he had to take refuge behind RCMP officers “to safely participate” in a Hindu event in Edmonton, Canada, as “a group of Khalistani protesters staged a disruptive demonstration against me.”
He said: “I have heard concerns from Hindus across Canada regarding recent developments,” and that as a “Hindu Member of Parliament,” he too has “experienced these concerns first-hand.”
Posting on the day, Trudeau alleged India’s interference in Canadian sovereignty, the Indian-origin MP stressed that “any actions or involvement by foreign state actors within Canada, in any form, are unacceptable” but that as Canadian citizens, they expect the government to protect them from threats like terrorism and extremism.
“In Canada, we have long recognized the serious problem of Khalistani violent extremism,” he said.
“We know that extremism and terrorism do not recognize and are not limited by national borders.
On Canadian Khalistani violent extremism, as Canadians, we expect our federal government and its agencies to collaborate with other affected countries to protect our citizens…,” said Arya.
