Deep concern at anti-India, anti-Hindu activities, Brampton temple told Trudeau | World news
TORONTO: A famous temple in Canada’s Greater Toronto Area or GTA has expressed concern about the increase in anti-India and anti-Hindu activities in the country including damage by Pro-Khalistan elements and sought the intervention of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
In a letter to Trudeau on Tuesday, Jeff Lal, president of the Bharat Mata Mandir in Brampton, said the temple’s board of directors wanted to express their “deep concerns” at the recent increase in anti-India and anti-Hindu activities.
Lal said in his letter to Trudeau: “We are troubled by the alarming increase of hatred and the apparent lack of action by the Canadian authorities to address this issue at its roots before it takes control,” Lal said in his letter to Trudeau. He urged the Prime Minister to “take immediate and necessary steps to address this issue.”
The letter comes days after a set of posters, titled “‘War Zone'”, were found in front of the temple on Friday. These posters targeted Indian High Commissioner to Ottawa Sanjay Kumar Verma and consul general in Toronto Apoorva Srivastava and were removed by temple volunteers.
This is the second time in a month that they are targeting the temple. In June, another poster promoting the so-called Punjab Referendum organized by the separatist group Sikhs for Justice was also placed in the font of the temple. Posters support an anti-India demonstration outside the Indian Consulate in Toronto on Saturday, July 8.
Lal told HT that he felt the temple was repeatedly targeted because of its reputation.
He said the priests live in the temple building and there are legitimate concerns over their safety. Lal added that temple authorities will distribute the letter sent to Trudeau to all Canadian MPs and members of the Ontario legislature.
On July 8, violence broke out at pro- and anti-India rallies outside the Indian consulate in Toronto.
About 250 Khalistani supporters gathered across the street from the Indian consulate on the death of Sikh leader Justice Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was shot dead by unknown assailants in Surrey, British Columbia on June 18. Posters accused the Indian establishment of post-murder. The Pro-Khalistan group was protested by a pro-India rally point on the road. The two groups were separated by Toronto police officers,
Nijjar was accused of being the leader of the Khalistan Tiger Force by Indian law enforcement and faces several terror-related charges, while being the main SFJ figure in the Metro Vancouver area. However, none of the charges against him have been tried in Canadian courts and the SFJ has maintained that he does not use violence.
India on July 3 Canadian Ambassador Cameron Mackay was invited to the foreign affairs center in New Delhi on the activities of Pro-Khalistan groups, and served a demarche on the threat to the Indian delegation.
“Our understanding is that these posters inciting violence against our diplomatic missions and diplomatic missions are unacceptable and we condemn them in the strongest possible terms,” a spokesperson for the embassy said. Public service Arindam Bagchi said on July 6.
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