Pro-Khalistan elements have, once again, highlighted their hatred for India and for Hinduism, and this time, in Canada’s Toronto. The Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) Swaminarayan Temple, which is the province’s one of the most prominent Hindu temples, was vandalized by Khalistani goons, with pro-Khalistan graffiti strewn on the temple walls. The graffiti read ‘Khalistan Zindabad, Hindustan Murdabad’.
The controversial incident has taken place just days before the ‘Khalistan Referendum’ which is to take place on September 18th, organized by the banned outfit, Sikhs for Justice (SFJ). The group has been occupied in calling out to people, encouraging them to vote in the referendum, and have put up posters about the same all around the city of Brampton in the Toronto suburbs.
The desecration of the BAPS temple has invited outrage of the Indian High Commission in Ottawa, and it has demanded strict action against the miscreants. Taking to Twitter, the High Commission said, “We strongly condemn defacing BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir Toronto with anti-India graffiti. We have requested Canadian authorities to investigate the incident and take prompt action on perpetrators”.
Leaders like Sonia Sidhu, MP, Brampton South, and Chandra Arya, MP, House of Commons, have expressed their anger against this act of vandalism.
It is to be noted that it is not the first time that a Hindu temple in Canada has been targeted by Khalistani extremists, raising the trepidations of Canadian Hindus.