Khalistani Protesters Tried To Disrupt Consular Camp At Hindu Temple: Canadian Journalist

A visit of the Indian consulates to a Hindu temple in the Greater Toronto Area once again saw protest by pro-Khalistani elements, despite a recent court order prohibiting such activities outside the place of worship.

The Indian diplomats have organised a consular camp inside the Lakshmi Narayan Mandir in Scarborough to assist elderly Indian nationals with their pensions, reported a Canadian journalist. The visuals of the protest showed Khalistanis shouting slogans against the Indian government reportedly over the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada’s Surrey last year.

The Canadian journalist, who reported the incident, accused the Khalistanis of attempting to destabilise the ties between India and Canada by staging such protests and disrupting Indian consular camps. The protestors, reportedly belonging to the Sikhs for Justice, an organisation that pushes for an independent Sikh state carved out in India, called for Canada to shut down the Indian consulate.

“This is not an issue of Sikhs vs any religious group. This is the Sikh community standing up against the Indian government and its fascist regime that’s openly promoting violence and targeting Sikhs who are simply raising awareness and raising their voice for a free and sovereign Punjab,” Kuljeet Singh, a spokesperson for Sikhs for Justice, was quoted as saying by CBC News.

It comes a few days after a Canadian court granted an injunction to a temple in Toronto, preventing protesters from gathering within 100 metres of its premises, as it hosts a consular camp that day. The consular camps, which provide services to elderly pensioners from various religious backgrounds, including Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims, and Christians, were once peaceful spaces for accessing government services. However, they have now become centres of political unrest.