No action against anti-India elements exposes Canada’s double standards: MEA

New Delhi: India on Thursday reiterated that it expects Canada to take action against anti-India elements otherwise “the rule of law and respect for pluralism” in the country will continue to be “severely undermined”.

“When a democracy adopts different yardsticks to measure or implement the rule of law and freedom of expression, it only exposes its double standards. We expect Canada to take action against anti-India elements who have repeatedly threatened Indian leaders, institutions, airlines, and diplomats with violence,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during the weekly media briefing on Thursday.

“We would like to see stronger action at the same level of seriousness on the threats posed to us as well,” he added.

With another Hindu temple in Alberta’s capital Edmonton vandalised with hateful graffiti on Tuesday, New Delhi has slammed Ottawa for its inability to rein in the extremists.

The MEA stated that it has “strongly” taken up the matter with the Canadian authorities, both in New Delhi and in the Canadian capital.

“We condemn the vandalisation. We expect the local authorities to take swift and strong action against those responsible. These attacks against temples have become a recurring occurrence and are done with a purpose, which is not very difficult to fathom,” said Jaiswal.

“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,” he added.

Tuesday’s incident added to the series of attacks targeting Hindu establishments in Canada.

“During the last few years, Hindu temples in the Greater Toronto Area, British Columbia, and other places in Canada have been vandalised with hateful graffiti. Gurpatwant Singh Pannun of ‘Sikhs for Justice’ last year publicly called for Hindus to go back to India,” Canadian Member of Parliament Chandra Arya wrote on X on July 23.

“Khalistan supporters publicly celebrated in Brampton and Vancouver the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and brandished images of deadly weapons. As I have always been saying, Khalistani extremists seem to get away with ease with their public rhetoric of hate and violence.

“Again, let me put on record. Hindu-Canadians are legitimately concerned. Like a broken record, I again call on Canadian law enforcement agencies to take this issue seriously before these rhetorics get translated into physical action against Hindu-Canadians,” Arya detailed.

The Indian government has repeatedly expressed its deep concern and strong protest at the disturbing actions being allowed to continue unchecked in Canada, saying it illustrates the political space that has been given in the country to separatism, extremism, and violence.

In May, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar targeted the Justin Trudeau government for giving refuge to pro-Khalistani elements, asserting that further deterioration in bilateral ties would eventually result in a big loss for Canada.

“Freedom of speech cannot be freedom to advocate violence, freedom of speech cannot be freedom to support separatism and terrorism in a foreign country. It cannot be… A group of Khalistanis have been misusing Canada’s freedom laws for years.

“But when the Canadian government has any political compulsions, they accommodate these people who are also their vote bank,” Jaishankar said while speaking at the ‘Vishwabandhu Bharat’ interaction in Nashik.

IANS