Khalistan backers hold anti-Hindu parade in Toronto with PM Modi, Amit Shah effigies; India conveys concerns

An anti-Hindu parade was held at Malton Gurdwara in the Canadian city of Toronto and a video of the rally was shared by Canadian journalist Daniel Bordman, reported ANI.

In the video shared on Sunday, Khalistan sympathisers could be seen taking out a parade, including a large truck with a replica of a jail which had effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

The video has gone viral on social media. The parade comes on the back of incidents of vandalism at a Hindu temple with pro-Khalistan graffiti.

The Khalistani sympathisers who taok part in the parade demanded the deportation of 8,00,000 Hindus living in Canada to India.

In a post shared on X, Bordman stated, "The Jihadis rampaging through our streets have done significant damage to the social fabric running around threatening any Jews they can find. But the Khalistanis are giving them a good run for their money on most hateful foreign funded menace to society. Will Mark Carney's Canada be any different from Justin Trudeau's?"

He made the statement in response to a post shared by a user named Shawn Binda on the social media platform X.

A report by Hindustan Times has stated that the Indo-Canadian groups expressed outrage over a speech made during a Khalsa Day parade in the Greater Toronto Area on Sunday. The groups called for the community to be removed from the country.

The anti-Hindu parade in Toronto comes just days after Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney and the governing Liberal Party secured victory in national elections. Carney had taken over from Justin Trudeau, who resigned towards the end of his term after his party lost faith in him.

In April, Daniel Bordman alleged that the Lakshmi Narayan temple in Surrey, British Columbia, had been vandalised for the third time. He also mentioned that the walls of the building were defaced with pro-Khalistan graffiti, and a security camera was stolen. Bordman described what he saw and voiced concern over how the situation was handled.

He had claimed that two people posted graffiti on the temple walls and stole a security camera around 3 am.

Canadian Hindu Chamber of Commerce condemns parade

In a statement, the Canadian Hindu Chamber of Commerce said, “History teaches us that calls for mass expulsion lead to unthinkable acts. This dangerous rhetoric must be denounced by all leaders.”

According to community leaders, there are approximately 1.8 million Indo-Canadians in the country, of whom around 800,000 are Hindus.

Meanwhile, the National Alliance of Indo-Canadians called upon Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to address the issue immediately.

India conveys concerns:

India has conveyed concerns in the strongest terms to the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi regarding the parade held in Toronto where unacceptable imagery and threatening language were used against our leadership, and Indian citizens residing in Canada. 

The government said, as quoted by ANI, “We once again call on the Canadian authorities to act against anti-India elements who spread hatred and advocate extremism and separatist agenda.”

With agency inputs.