• Source:JND
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Amid rising diplomatic tensions, the Indian Consulate in Canada on Thursday announced the cancellation of several planned consular camps due to security concerns. This comes after alerts from local security agencies, who cited their "continued inability to ensure even minimal security protection" for the event organizers.

The Consulate General of India in Toronto said, “Due to continued inability conveyed by security agencies to provide minimum security against heightened threats, the Consulate has had to cancel some more consular camps. Most of them were not at any places of worship, including one at a Police facility. The Consulate is fully sensitive to the difficulties faced by close to 4,000 elderly members of the diaspora in the Greater Toronto Area—both Indian and Canadian nationals—who have been deprived of an essential consular service.”

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Earlier this month, the Consulate announced the cancellation of several camps after local authorities stated they could not ensure the required security. This decision followed a violent incident at a consular camp held at the Hindu Sabha Temple near Toronto.

Following this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the Canadian government to ensure justice and uphold the rule of law. Political parties and religious organisations in India also demanded that the Trudeau government take urgent steps to ensure that such incidents are not repeated in future. 

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"I strongly condemn the deliberate attack on a Hindu temple in Canada. Equally appalling are the cowardly attempts to intimidate our diplomats. Such acts of violence will never weaken India’s resolve. We expect the Canadian government to ensure justice and uphold the rule of law," PM Modi said.

The relations between India and Canada reached an all-time low after Ottawa labelled the Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Verma and five other Indian diplomats as "persons of interest" in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, designated as a terrorist by the NIA. In response, New Delhi strongly condemned the action and recalled six diplomats, including Verma.