‘Never Acceptable’: Canada Reacts To Khalistani Floats Depicting Indira Assassination

Canadian minister of public safety Dominic A LeBlanc commented on the rally where posters depicting the assassination of India’s former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi were displayed and said promotion of violence is never acceptable.

Dominic A LeBlanc, the Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs took to social media site X to comment on the matter. “This week, there were reports of imagery depicting the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in Vancouver. The promotion of violence is never acceptable in Canada,” Dominic A LeBlanc said.

India lodged a formal diplomatic complaint after the posters were raised by Khalistan supporters in Vancouver, depicting the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Indo-Canadian lawmaker Chandra Arya also condemned the usage of these posters at the rally. “Khalistan supporters in Vancouver with posters of Hindu Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi’s body with bullet holes with her bodyguards turned assassins holding their guns, are again attempting to instil fear of violence in Hindu-Canadians,” Arya said in the House of Commons of Canada. The Nepean lawmaker on previous occasions has also highlighted how Khalistan supporters have created an atmosphere of fear among the Indian diaspora in Canada.

“This is a continuation of threats with a similar float in Brampton a couple of years back and a few months back (Gurpatwant Singh) Pannun of Sikhs for Justice asking Hindus to go back to India,” Arya, the lawmaker from Canadian PM Justin Trudeau’s party said. He called law enforcement agencies in Canada to act immediately.

India on multiple occasions has highlighted the issue of space given to Khalistani separatists in Canada with the Trudeau government. It has also raised the issue of terrorists and anti-India elements in Canada and their activities.

This is not the first time a float depicting violence against the former Prime Minister has featured in Canada. In June 2023, a float featuring the assassination of the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was displayed during a martyrdom day parade in the Greater Toronto Area.

The free rein given to Khalistani elements have also resulted in frosty ties between India and Canada. Canada also alleges that India was responsible for the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a designated terrorist, in Surrey but India has called the claim ‘baseless’ and said Canadian authorities could not present relevant evidence to support their claim.

Justin Trudeau had made the claim in the Canadian Parliament last year.

Last year, on June 4, a float featuring the assassination of the late Prime Minister was part of a martyrdom day event in the Greater Toronto Area or GTA.

In a recent report, a high-level Canadian parliamentary committee called India the “second-biggest foreign threat” to Canada’s democracy. The report identified China as the number one threat. India has moved up from the third spot in 2019, ahead of Russia, in the foreign threat perception index.

Earlier this year, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) shared unclassified documents. These documents alleged that some countries, including India, interfered in Canada’s elections.

India denied Canada’s accusations and called the allegations “baseless.”