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Indira assassination depicted: Canadian Oppn calls tableau ‘despicable’
The controversial tableau depicted the assassination as “revenge” for Operation Bluestar, the military action ordered by Gandhi in 1984
Toronto: Canada’s principal opposition party has condemned the “despicable display” of a tableau depicting the assassination of former Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi during a procession in Brampton city, and said it is “unacceptable to celebrate” such killings.
The remarks by the Conservative Party came days after the float sparked an outrage in India, with external affairs minister S Jaishankar saying that such activity is “not good for relationships” between the two countries.
The Canadian law enforcement, however, ruled out any “hate crime” and said their citizens are “guaranteed freedom of thought, belief and expression” under section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
In a statement on Saturday, Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Conservative Party, said: “We condemn this despicable display, unequivocally. It is unacceptable to celebrate assassinations, such as the assassination of (former) Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi.”
The controversial tableau, which was put on display during a parade on June 4, depicted the assassination as “revenge” for Operation Bluestar, the military action ordered by Gandhi in 1984 to flush out separatist leader Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale and his supporters from the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar.
On Wednesday, India’s high commission in Ottawa sent a formal note to the Global Affairs Canada or GAC, the country’s foreign ministry, to express displeasure over the float, which had mannequins depicting Gandhi and her killers, two members of her security detail. The high commission is yet to receive a response.
A day later, Jaishankar told a special media briefing that the float is linked to the bigger issue of the “space that Canada has continuously” provided to Khalistani elements. “Frankly... we are at a loss to understand, other than the requirement of vote bank politics, why anybody would do this... I mean, you would imagine that they learn about history and they wouldn’t like to repeat that history,” he said, in an apparent reference to Canada being a key base for Khalistani elements in the past.
“It isn’t only one incident, however egregious it may be. I think there is a larger underlying issue about this space which is given to separatists, to extremists, to people who advocate violence. And I think it’s not good for the relationship and I think it’s not good for Canada,” he added.
Besides the Conservative Party, Indo-Canadian Liberal Party MP Chandra Arya has criticised the float. “Khalistan supporters in Canada have reached a new low with a despicable float in a recent Brampton parade,” Arya tweeted on Thursday.
The Canadian law enforcement has maintained that the float did not comprise a “hate crime”. “Police have looked at the video and it’s their determination it does not constitute a hate crime,” Brampton mayor Patrick Brown said in a statement.
On Friday, a GAC spokesperson told HT that the ministry “has nothing further to add to the tweet from Canada’s High Commissioner to India Cameron McKay on June 5th”.
That tweet, the only official reaction from a Canadian official so far, said: “I am appalled by reports of an event in Canada that celebrated the assassination of late Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. There is no place in Canada for hate or for the glorification of violence. I categorically condemn these activities.”
