Member of Parliament, House of Commons of Canada, Chandra Arya on Friday condemned.
The defacing of Ram Mandir in Mississauga with anti-India graffiti and said authorities need to seriously look into the activities of anti-Hindu and anti-India groups and take action now. Canada needs to address the growing Hinduphobia, the MP said.
Two days back, a Ram Mandir in Canada’s Mississauga was defaced with anti-India graffiti, sparking outrage. The Consulate General of India in Toronto strongly condemned the incident and called for prompt action.
The miscreants wrote slogans against India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and praised pro-Khalistan leader Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Photographs of the vandalism shared on Twitter showed the white exterior walls of the temple spray-painted with anti-India graffiti.
“It is with pain and anguish that I state the Ram Mandir, a Hindu temple in Mississauga, has become the latest target of hate crime. In recent times, other Hindu temples across Canada have been targets of hate crimes by anti-Hindu and anti-India groups,” Aryan said in the parliament, as per the statement shared by an MP on Twitter.
It is with pain and anguish I note that the Ram Mandir, a Hindu temple in Mississauga has become the latest target of hate crime
Authorities in Canada need to seriously look into the activities of anti-Hindu & anti-India groups and take action now
My statement in parliament today pic.twitter.com/5U4t0HoQRt— Chandra Arya (@AryaCanada) February 16, 2023
“These groups first joined hands-on social media targeting Hindu-Canadians and starting the trend of Hinduphobia. Now they have moved on to physical attacks on Hindu temples. There are reports that individual Hindu Canadians are also being targeted. As I have said before, Canada needs to take the issue seriously and address the growing Hinduphobia. As Canadians, we practice, celebrate, and share our many different religious faiths and heritage peacefully and let us all pledge to continue to do so,” he added.
Earlier, the Consulate General of India in Toronto on Tuesday also condemned the defacing of Ram Mandir in Mississauga with anti-India graffiti. It requested Canadian authorities to investigate the incident and take prompt action against the perpetrators.
This is not the first time that a Hindu Temple in Canada was defaced with anti-India graffiti. Earlier, a Hindu Temple in Brampton in Canada was defaced in January with anti-India graffiti, triggering outrage among the Indian community.
The Indian Consulate General in Toronto condemned the vandalism at the Gauri Shankar Mandir, stating that the act has deeply hurt the sentiments of the Indian community in Canada.
The consulate office in a statement said “We strongly condemn the defacing of Gauri Shankar Mandir in Brampton, a symbol of Indian heritage, with anti-India graffiti. The hateful act of vandalism has deeply hurt the sentiments of the Indian community in Canada. We have raised our concerns on the matter with Canadian authorities.”
Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown also condemned the vandalism and the Canadian authorities are investigating the incident.