Khalistani Terrorist Pressures Canada to Sack Hindu MP Over Indian Ties
16:05 24.07.2024 (Updated: 16:45 24.07.2024)
© AFP 2023 COLE BURSTON
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Canadian MP Chandra Arya blamed pro-Khalistan separatists for defacing the Hindu Temple in Edmonton with anti-India graffiti, saying that Hindu-Canadians were seriously concerned over rising instances of vandalising of temples and hateful rhetoric espoused by Khalistanis in the country.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the General Counsel of New York-based secessionist group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), has called upon the Canadian authorities to disqualify Liberal Party parliamentarian Chandra Arya over his opposition to the creation of Khalistan.
In a letter addressed to Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc on Tuesday, Pannun demanded the disqualification of Arya as a Canadian MP for "effectively abandoning his oath of allegiance" to the country.
Pannun accused Arya of running a "hate mongering campaign" against Canadian Sikhs subscribing to pro-Khalistan ideology. He said that Arya was doing so at the "behest" of the Indian government.
The pro-Khalistan secessionist said that Arya's remarks could incite attacks against pro-Khalistan supporters based on their "political opinion and religious identity".
The Sikh separatist further claimed that Arya was a follower of Prime Minister Modi's Hindutva ideology, and his "loyalties" lied with his ancestral homeland India rather than Canada. He also accused Modi-led government on being responsible for "assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar", a designated terrorist in India killed by unidentified gunmen at a Sikh community centre in British Columbia last June.
Additionally, Pannun sought in his post support for a so-called referendum on Khalistan set to be held in Calgary on Sunday. New Delhi, in turn, has consistently opposed the "operating space" provided to extremists in Canadian politics, though Indian concerns have largely remained unheeded.
Comments of Pannun, a member of the SFJ – a designated terrorist under India's Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) since 2019, came after MP Chanda Arya blamed pro-Khalistan separatists for defacing the BAPS Swaminarayan Hindu Temple in Edmonton with anti-India graffiti.
Meanwhile, in November, the US Department of Justice unsealed an indictment accusing Indian government officials of hatching a foiled assassination plot against Pannun. Since then, the US has consistently pressured India to act against its officials involved in the plot, while all but overlooking Indian concerns over the pro-Khalistan separatist: he was booked by India's National Investigative Agency (NIA) for threatening to bomb Air India flights.
Meanwhile, in November, the US Department of Justice unsealed an indictment accusing Indian government officials of hatching a foiled assassination plot against Pannun. Since then, the US has consistently pressured India to act against its officials involved in the plot, while all but overlooking Indian concerns over the pro-Khalistan separatist: he was booked by India's National Investigative Agency (NIA) for threatening to bomb Air India flights.
On Sunday, an Indian MP Dr V Sivadasan revealed that he had recieved a threatening call from SFJ.
CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP from Kerala, V Sivadasan writes a letter to Chairman Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, regarding receiving a threatening call claiming to be from 'Sikhs For Justice'.
© Photo : Social Media
Meanwhile, on Monday, Arya once again urged the Canadian law-enforcement agencies to act against pro-Khalistan extremists for their hateful anti-India rhetoric, which he believes could soon get translated into physical actions against Hindu-Canadians.
He recalled that in 2023 Pannun publicly called for Hindus to go back to India, and this year Khalistan supporters in Canada openly celebrated the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and brandishing images of deadly weapons.
