Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday led the Canadian politicians in slamming the attack on Hindu devotees at the Hindu Sabha Temple in Brampton, calling the incident "shameful" and "unacceptable".
The incident happened on Sunday after a group of Khalistani extremists marching to the Hindu Sabha Temple at Brampton began unleashing violence on the devotees. Footage shared by the Toronto-based Hindu Canadian Foundation showed men holding Khalistani flags and banners clashing with devotees, some of whom were holding Indian flags. The video also shows fistfights and people striking each other with poles.
The Canadian police said they were investigating "a demonstration at a Hindu temple in Brampton that allegedly turned violent on Sunday afternoon."
"While we respect the individual rights to protest as per the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, our duty and responsibility remain to maintain public order and ensure the safety of everyone," Peel police said in a statement on social media. Police chief Nishan Duraiappah took to social media to state that violence will not be tolerated and those who participated in this activity will be pursued, arrested and charged.
Peel police have deployed additional officers in the area. However, no arrests had been announced.
Canadian MP Chandra Arya took to X to share videos of the violence, stating that a "red line has been crossed by Canadian Khalistani extremists today." He added that this proved that Khalistani violent extremism has become brazen in Canada and believes there is a "small grain of truth in the reports that in addition to Canadian political apparatus, Khalistanis have effectively infiltrated into our law enforcement agencies."
Trudeau immediately condemned the attack, calling the reports of violence "shameful". He added that every Canadian had the right to practice their faith freely and safely.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre also posted about the incident calling it "completely unacceptable." Interestingly, Khalistani supporter and NDP leader too to X to condemn the "acts of violence at Hindu Sabha Mandir." "Every Canadian must be free to visit their place of worship in peace," he said.
However, the Hindu Canadian Foundation slammed his "double standards" which they said will not work well with educated Canadians. "You must take a stand either you support foundational Canadian values, which are love, respect and care for each other, or you support weapon-loaded Khalistaani forces," it read.
Meanwhile, the Khalistani movement Sikhs for Justice has come up with a bizarre statement that the "Hindu nationalists had provoked the fighting." It claimed that Indian officials use visits to religious sites to find informants to target Sikh separatists. The extremist group also wants "Indian consular officials to be barred from undertaking work outside of their diplomatic premises."
The Indian High Commission in Ottawa did not immediately respond to the claims.