India-born Canadian member of Parliament Chandra Arya on Friday condemned the defacing of a Hindu temple in the Ontario's Mississauga city with anti-India graffiti. He recalled other incidents of ‘hate crimes’ by ‘anti-Hindu’ and ‘anti-India’ groups and urged the authorities to ‘take the issue seriously'.
“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,” Arya said on Twitter while sharing the bit of his speech in the House of Commons.
Also read: India urges strict action after temple defaced in Toronto
On Tuesday, a Hindu temple was desecrated with anti-India and pro-Khalistan graffiti. The slogans spray-painted in the back of the Shri Ram Mandir in the area included those attacking India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and describing the founder of the separatist Khalistan movement, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, as a ‘martyr’.
{{/usCountry}}On Tuesday, a Hindu temple was desecrated with anti-India and pro-Khalistan graffiti. The slogans spray-painted in the back of the Shri Ram Mandir in the area included those attacking India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and describing the founder of the separatist Khalistan movement, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, as a ‘martyr’.
{{/usCountry}}The issue was earlier raised by India's High Commission in Ottawa with the Canada's foreign ministry. “We strongly condemn the defacing of Ram Mandir in Mississauga with anti-India graffiti. We have requested Canadian authorities to investigate the incident and take prompt action on perpetrators,” India's consulate in Toronto tweeted.
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It was fourth such incident in the country in last eight months. On January 30, another Hindu temple in Brampton was similarly defaced. A statue of Mahatma Gandhi was defaced last year along with incidents of vandalisation in other places. However, no arrests pertaining to any of these cases have been made so far.
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