NEW DELHI: India’s foreign minister S. Jaishankar on Thursday condemned Canada for allowing extremists to carry out parades with a float depicting the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Images and videos surfaced online of the parade, believed to be carried out by Khalistani supporters in Canada’s Brampton on June 4, just days before the 39th anniversary of Operation Blue Star on June 6.
The Congress had earlier urged Jaishankar to take up the issue strongly with Canadian authorities.
When asked about it at a press conference, Jaishankar hit out at Canada, saying there was a larger underlying issue about the space which is given to separatists, extremists and people who advocate violence.
Earlier, Canadian High Commissioner to India Cameron Mackay said he was "appalled" by the reports of the event in his country that "celebrated" the assassination of the Indian prime minister.
"There is no place in Canada for hate or for the glorification of violence. I categorically condemn these activities," he said in a tweet.
Congress leader and former Union minister Milind Deora shared a purported video, which is doing the rounds on social media, of a float at a recent parade in Brampton depicting Gandhi's assassination.
"As an Indian, I'm appalled by the 5 km-long parade which took place in the city of Brampton, Canada, depicting the assassination of Indira Gandhi," he tweeted.
Deora said, "It's not about taking sides, it's about respect for a nation's history and the pain caused by its Prime Minister's assassination."
"This extremism deserves universal condemnation and a united response," the Congress leader added.
Tagging Deora's tweet, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "I entirely agree! This is despicable and Dr S Jaishankar should take it up strongly with the Canadian authorities."
Responding to Deora's tweet, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said, "You are completely right. There should be no politics in condemning this despicable act across party lines."
At his press conference, Jaishankar said, "Frankly, we are at a loss to understand other than the requirements of vote bank politics why anybody would do this. I think it is not one issue, no matter how egregious it may be."
"I think there is a larger underlying issue about the space which is given to separatists, to extremists, to people who advocate violence. I think it is not good for the relationship and I think it is not good for Canada," he added.
Operation Blue Star was an Indian Armed Forces operation ordered by Indira Gandhi in 1984 to remove Damdami Taksal leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his followers from the buildings of the Golden Temple.
The operation was faced with a lot of backlash which led to Gandhi being assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984.