India slams Canadian parliament’s ‘moment of silence’ tribute to pro-Khalistani terrorist Nijjar

The Canadian Parliament on June 18 held a moment of silence for pro-Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was shot dead on June 18, 2023 by two unidentified men in the parking lot of a gurdwara in Surrey.

By: Express Web Desk

New Delhi | Updated: June 21, 2024 11:11 PM IST

2 min read

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Canada's House of Commons observes a moment of silence for Hardeep Singh Nijjar (Screenshot/parlvu.parl.gc.ca/)

India on Friday slammed the the Canadian parliament’s “moment of silence” for pro-Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18, asserting that New Delhi opposes any move giving political space to extremism.

Nijjar was shot dead on June 18 last year by two unidentified men in the parking lot of a gurdwara in Surrey, with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleging India’s involvement in the killing, further leading to diplomatic tensions between the two countries.

Addressing a press briefing, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “Time again, we have said that Khalistani activities are a matter of serious concern for us. We have been repeatedly calling upon the government of Canada to take action. Political space provided to extremist anti-India elements and those advocating violence must stop and they must take action…”.

Further, on the functioning of Khalistani ‘Citizen’s Courts’ in Canada, Jaiswal said the government has strongly protested at the Canadian High Commission in Delhi and asked them to take appropriate action.

“We have strongly protested at the Canadian High Commission here. Such courts or gatherings are not helpful at all. We have strongly taken it up with them and asked them to take appropriate action in the matter…,” he said.

On June 18, towards the end of the proceedings in the House of Commons, Speaker Greg Fergus stood up to announce, “Following discussions among representatives of all parties in the House, I understand there is agreement to observe a moment of silence commemorating Hardeep Singh Nijjar, assassinated in Surrey, British Columbia, one year ago today.”

Following this, members of the House stood up and observed a moment of silence. The Indian Express corroborated the video with official recordings of the proceedings at the House of Commons, available on the ParlVu website.

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Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra last week said India’s main issue with Canada continues to be the political space that Ottawa provides to anti-India elements which advocate extremism and violence.

India has repeatedly conveyed its “deep concerns” to Canada and New Delhi expects Ottawa to take strong action against those elements, he said.

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