Trudeau condemns Hindu temple violence near Toronto

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau interacts with the crowd as he visits the Diwali Mela event in Brampton, Ontario, Canada November 1, 2024. File | Photo credit: Arlyn McAdorey

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday (Nov 3, 2024) condemned the violence at a Hindu temple near Toronto as “unacceptable” after the shoes some leaders attributed to Sikh activists.

Local police in the city of Brampton, about 50 km (30 miles) northwest of Toronto, said they were heavily deployed outside the Hindu Sabha Mandir to maintain calm during a protest.

A spokesperson for Peel Regional Police said AFP that no arrests were made. Police also refused to assign blame for the reported violence.

“The acts of violence at the Hindu Sabha Mandir in Brampton today are unacceptable. Every Canadian has the right to practice their faith freely and safely,” Mr. Trudeau wrote on X.

A federal MP and member of Trudeau’s Liberal Party, Chandra Arya, blamed the incident on “Khalistanis,” a reference to supporters of the fringe separatist movement for an independent Sikh homeland in India’s Punjab state.

Relations between Canada and India collapsed after Ottawa accused the Indian government of orchestrating the 2023 killing in Vancouver of naturalized Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a prominent activist from Khalistan, 45.

Beyond Nijjar’s killing, Canada has accused India of waging a broad campaign targeting Sikh activists on Canadian soil, which Ottawa says has included intimidation, threats and violence.

“A red line was crossed by Canadian Khalistani extremists today,” Mr Arya, who is Hindu, posted on X.

“The attack by Khalistanis on Hindu-Canadian devotees on the premises of the Hindu Sabha temple in Brampton shows how deep and reckless Khalistani violent extremism has become in Canada,” he said.

The video circulating on social media appears to show people carrying yellow Khalistan flags clashing with a rival group, including people holding Indian flags. There were also isolated fistfights, videos show.

Mr. Trudeau accused Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of violating Canadian sovereignty.

India has denied the allegations.

Delhi and Ottawa earlier this month each expelled the other’s ambassador and other senior diplomats.