Days after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations regarding a “potential link” between “agents of the Government of India” and the killing of Khalistan separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Member of Parliament Chandra Arya, from Trudeau’s own party on Thursday criticised the Trudeau government for purportedly “permitting hate crimes” under the guise of freedom of speech and expression.
In a video message, he said, “Few days back Khalistan movement leader in Canada and the president of Sikhs for Justice which organizes the so-called referendum. Gurpatwant Singh Pannun attacked Hindu-Canadians asking us to leave Canada and go back to India.
I have heard from many Hindu-Canadians who are fearful after this targeted attack,” he said.
Arya said this is an attempt by the Khalistan movement leader to incite reactions from Hindu Canadians and create divisions within the Hindu and Sikh communities in Canada.
“This direct attack on Hindu-Canadians by the leader of Canadian Khalistan movement is further escalation of the recent attacks on Hindu temples and public celebration of the assassination of Hindu Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by terrorists,” he said.
Last year, he accused “Khalistani extremists” of vandalising Toronto’s BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir.
“Canada has high moral values and we fully uphold the rule of law. I can’t understand how glorification of terrorism or a hate crime targeting a religious group is allowed in the name of freedom of speech and expression,” he said.
“There would be an outrage in Canada if a white supremacist attacked any group of racialised Canadians asking them to get out of our country. But apparently, this Khalistani leader can get away with this hate crime,” he added.
“Two well-organized groups claiming to represent their faiths have been attacking Hindu-Canadian community leaders, Hindu organizations and even me. For over ten months, I have been attacked for raising a flag with our Hindu religious sacred symbol Aum on our parliament hill,” he said.
In 2022, Arya had achieved a significant milestone when the House unanimously passed his private member bill, designating November as Hindu Heritage Month. He marked the occasion by raising a flag with Aum on Parliament Hill.
After he had hoisted the flag, academics from the Université du Québec à Montréal, Hindus for Human Rights, and the Canadian Council of Muslim Women had expressed concerns that the flag symbolised the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a political organisation. Later, Arya clarified that the flag represented the Hindu faith, not any political entity.
Chandra Arya, who was elected to represent the Nepean riding in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 and 2019 federal elections, currently serves as a member of the Standing Committee on International Trade.
Born in Dwaralu in Karnataka, Arya has been a resident of Canada for the past 19 years.