India-origin Canadian member of Parliament Chandra Arya on Monday shared a purported video of Pro Khalistani supporters in Surrey and claimed that they want to create trouble at the Hindu Laxmi Narayan Mandir in Surrey.
Taking to the social media platform X, he asked the Canadian authorities to step in and take action. "Last week Khalistan supporters verbally abused a Sikh family outside a Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey BC according to some reports. Now it appears the same Khalistan group want to create trouble at the Hindu Laxmi Narayan Mandir in Surrey," he wrote on X.
"All these are being done in the name of freedom of speech and expression. Like a broken record, I am again asking Canadian authorities to step in and take action. Hindu temples have been attacked many times during the last couple of years. Hate crimes are being committed against Hindu-Canadians. Allowing these things to continue to be done openly and publicly is not acceptable," added the post.
There have been several cases of vandalisation of Hindu temples in Canada by Khalistani elements. Earlier in August, a temple was vandalised in Canada by extremist elements with Khalistan referendum posters. The poster on the temple gate referred to and also had the picture of Khalistan Tiger Force chief and designated terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was killed in June this year.
Earlier in April, BAPS Swaminarayan temple was vandalised with anti-India graffiti in Windsor, in Canada's Ontario.
In February, the Ram Mandir in Canada's Mississauga was vandalised with anti-India graffiti. The Consulate General of India in Toronto condemned the defacing of the mandir and requested Canadian authorities to investigate the incident and take prompt action against the perpetrators.
In January, a Hindu temple in Brampton was defaced with anti-India graffiti, triggering outrage among the Indian community.
The vandalisation of temples comes as the ties between India and Canada have soured after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed his country's national security officials had reasons to believe that "agents of the Indian government" carried out the killing of Canadian citizen Nijjar, who also served as the president of Surrey's Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara.
However, India rejected all such claims, terming them "'absurd" and "motivated". Notably, Canada has yet to provide any public evidence to support the claim about the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
(With inputs from agency)