Chandra Arya, Member of Canadian Parliament, on Friday (November 8), issued a video statement on social media in which he said that Canadian politicians were 'misleading' people by describing the current social unrest in the country as a 'Sikh vs Hindu' issue. In his statement, he clearly condemned 'Khalistani extremists' for attacking a Hindu temple in Brampton. Arya said politicians in Canada were 'deliberately avoiding' the mention of Khalistanis and have been seeking to shift blame of the violence on other entities.
"...On behalf of Hindu-Canadians and the vast majority of Sikh-Canadians, I again strongly condemn the attack by Khalistani extremists on Hindu devotees at the Hindu Sabha temple in Brampton. Politicians are deliberately avoiding recognizing and mentioning Khalistanis as responsible for this attack or are shifting the blame to other entities. They are misleading Canadians by framing this as an issue between Hindus and Sikhs. This is not true..." read Arya's statement, which was posted on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
Arya's post has come just a day after a video of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau surfaced. In the video, Trudeau can be seen saying that 'supporters' of 'Khalistan' were present in Canada but they did not represent 'Sikh community as a whole'.
Arya belongs to Liberal Party of Canada which Trudeau also belongs to.
Khalistani extremists attacked Hindu Sabha temple in Brampton on November 3. A non-profit organisation later released a video showing the attack and said that the attackers even attacked women and children.
Relations between India and Canada have been under major strain since last year after Trudeau alleged that 'agents' of India were behind the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Khalistani extremist, in Canada. India has rejected the allegations outright and has asked Canada to provide evidence, something it has not done.
Trudeau's claims have also affected the social fabric in Canada with attack on the Hindu temple being viewed as an example of it.