The ministry of external affairs (MEA) on Thursday said Canada should take action against elements who threaten Indian leaders during its weekly press briefing. The MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal was referring to a recent video released by Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun where he made threats to Indian-origin MP Chandra Arya and Indians living in Canada.
“The likes of Arya and his supporters. You have no place in Canada because you are working against Canadian values. You are working against the Charter of Rights and you are promoting the interest of your masters, India. You all must abandon your citizenship and move back to your motherland, India,” Pannun had said in his video.
“We expect Canada to take action against anti-India elements who have repeatedly threatened Indian leaders, institutions, airlines and diplomats by violence. We would like to see strong action, same level of action on threats against us,” Jaiswal said.
He also said that he has come across reports of two men being arrested after they released a video threatening Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and said Canada should deal with the anti-India elements the same way it dealt with the people threatening Trudeau, without directly referring to the Pannun video.
“We have seen these reports. When a democracy adopts different yardsticks to measure or implement the rule of law and freedom of expression, it only exposes its own double standard,” Jaiswal said.
Relations between Canada and India remain fraught with tensions as Ottawa accuses New Delhi of orchestrating a murder-for-hire plot following the murder of Khalistani separatist terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India has denied the accusations, terming them ‘baseless’.
Tensions soared this week after Khalistani miscreants vandalised the premises of the BAPS Swaminarayan Temple in Edmonton, followed by the video where Pannun targets Hindus living in Canada.
The MEA said that it has taken up the matter with Canadian authorities. “We have strongly taken up the matter with Canadian authorities, both in Delhi and Ottawa. We condemn the vandalization. We expect the local authorities to take strong and swift action against those responsible. These attacks against Temples have become a recurring occurrence and are done with a purpose which is not difficult to fathom,” Jaiswal said.
“We have seen a number of such incidents in recent times in Canada. Lack of action against the perpetrators has further emboldened such criminal elements. Those advocating and responsible for extremism and violence need to be brought to justice or else the rule of law and respect for pluralism in Canada will continue to be severely undermined. We hope the Canadian government will take action,” he further added.
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