Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, June 8: After images of a parade float in Brampton depicting the killing of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi appeared, Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar denounced Canada’s apparent tolerance of pro-Khalistan extremists.
“India fails to understand why Canada gives space to separatists and extremists, other than vote bank politics,” Jaishankar said.
The foreign minister responded angrily after a video of a float portraying Indira Gandhi being killed by her Sikh bodyguards went viral on social media. The float apparently took part in a 5-km march held by Khalistani sympathisers in Brampton, Canada.
The footage is believed to have been captured on June 4, just days before the 39th anniversary of Operation Blue Star on June 6, during a parade held in Brampton by supporters of Khalistan.
India formally complained about the event to the Canadian government on Wednesday. The incident was labelled as “not acceptable” in a formal letter written to Global Affairs Canada (GAC) by the Indian High Commission in Ottawa.
Cameron MacKay, the Canadian High Commissioner in India publicly denounced the portrayal of Indira Gandhi’s murder at the Brampton event, stating that “hatred and the glorification of violence have no place in Canada.”
