New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday strongly condemned the deliberate attack on Hindu temple in Canada and expressed his dismay over "cowardly attempts" to intimidate India's diplomats, stating that New Delhi expects Canada to ensure justice and uphold rule of law.
In a post on X, PM Modi said that such acts of violence will never weaken India's resolve.
"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 strong statement by PM Modi came hours after the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) condemned the acts of violence perpetrated by extremists and separatists at the Hindu Sabha Temple in Brampton, Ontario yesterday.
"We call on the Government of Canada to ensure that all places of worship are protected from such attacks. We also expect that those indulging in violence will be prosecuted. We remain deeply concerned about the safety and security of Indian nationals in Canada," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in response to media queries regarding violence in Brampton.
"The outreach of our Consular officers to provide services to Indians and Canadian citizens alike will not be deterred by intimidation, harassment and violence," he added.
India has been repeatedly expressing its deep concern about extremism and the culture of violence and anti-India activities in Canada and has been seeking action against these activities.
This is the first statement by PM Modi since the Canada-related controversy started.
Sources said it is a reflection that PM Modi stands up for Indians across the world.
An Indian consular camp at the Hindu Sabha Temple in Canada's Brampton witnessed a "violent disruption" on Sunday (local time) in Brampton, near Toronto.
The incident sparked widespread criticism in and outside Canada. Canadian opposition leader Pierre Poilievre condemned the attack on the Hindu Sabha temple, calling it "completely unacceptable."
The ties between India and Canada have taken a sharp downturn following Canadian leaders making allegations without providing evidence about an assassination on their soil.
The sharp deterioration in ties has seen India withdrawing its High Commissioner from Canada.
India had last month Canada's then Charge d'Affaires Stewart Wheeler and conveyed that the "baseless targeting" of the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats and officials in Canada was completely unacceptable.
India underlined that in an atmosphere of extremism and violence, the Trudeau Government's actions endangered their safety."We have no faith in the current Canadian Government's commitment to ensure their security. Therefore, the Government of India has decided to withdraw the High Commissioner and other targeted diplomats and officials," MEA had said in a release.
The bilateral ties soured after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged in the Canadian Parliament last year that he has "credible allegations" of India's hand in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
India has denied all the allegations, calling them "absurd" and "motivated" and has accused Canada of giving space to extremist and anti-India elements in their country.
Nijjar, who was designated a terrorist by India's National Investigation Agency, was shot and killed outside a Gurdwara in Surrey in June last year.
Trudeau had also said last month that his government had not provided India with hard evidence but just intelligence regarding the killing of Nijjar on Canadian soil.
Testifying at Canada's foreign interference inquiry, Trudeau said India has been insisting on evidence over allegations levelled by Canada.
"Behind the scenes (were trying) India to co-operate with us. Their ask was...give us the evidence you have on us. Our response was it is within your security agency. You should be looking into how much they know, you should be engaging... 'No, no but show us the evidence'. At that point, it was primarily intelligence, not hard evidentiary proof. So we said let's work together...," he said.
—ANI