A day after Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun threatened Hindus in Canada to leave the country, Canadian lawmakers condemned the statement and any kind of hate towards the Hindu community in Canada.
In a video that went viral amid the ongoing diplomatic row between India and Canada, Pannun, the chief of pro-Khalistan group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), asked Indo-Canadian Hindus to “leave Canada, and go to India”.
Dominic LeBlanc, the Minister of Public Safety of Canada, reacted to the video clarifying that there is no place for “acts of aggression, hate, intimidation or incitement of fear” in Canada.
“All Canadians deserve to feel safe in their communities. The circulation of an online hate video targeting Hindu Canadians runs contrary to the values we hold dear as Canadians. There is no place for acts of aggression, hate, intimidation or incitement of fear,” Leblanc wrote.
Randeep Sarai, a Member of Parliament for Surrey Centre, took to Twitter to refute the claims made in the video on Friday.
“There has been a video circulating calling Hindu Canadians “to have repudiated your allegiance to Canada…and to go to India.” I condemn this statement and any hate towards Hindu-Cdns. Such speech has no place in Canada,” he wrote in a tweet.
Another Member of Parliament from Vancouver South, Harjit Sajjan, said, “To Hindu Canadians & and Indians from all backgrounds: Anyone who says you do not deserve to be safe & welcomed in your home does not embody the values of freedom & kindness we hold dear as Canadians. Do not let others delegitimize or question your place and love for Canada.”
Pannun’s video came amid high tensions between India and Canada over Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s statement accusing Indian government agents of a “potential link” to the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June.
“Indo-Canadian Hindus, you have repudiated your allegiance to Canada and the Canadian Constitution. Your destination is India. Leave Canada, go to India,” Pannun says in the video, adding that Pro-Khalistan Sikhs are the ones who are loyal to Canada.
The tensions continue to intensify as India denied all the charges leveled by Justin Trudeau and expelled Olivier Sylvester, a top Canadian diplomat. The central government also announced that Canadian citizens, regardless of which country they are living in, would not be able to apply for an Indian visa.
The controversy pertains to the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a designated terrorist, in a targeted shooting in June this year outside a gurdwara in Canada’s Surrey.