India today reacted sharply to ”Khalistani” elements putting up posters targeting Indian diplomats in Canada, saying that such acts are “unacceptable”.
New Delhi said that apart from Canada, it has raised with Australia, the US and the UK the activities of ”Khalistan” elements.
At a media briefing here, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said: “The issue is not about freedom of expression but its misuse for advocating violence and propagating separatism and legitimising terrorism.”
The Indian embassies and consulates were in touch with the local authorities. The safety of Indian diplomats and its missions was of utmost importance to the government.
On Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s comments brushing aside New Delhi’s concerns that his government was “not serious” about cracking down on ”Khalistani” elements, the spokesperson said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has already stated that countries should not pander to vote bank politics.
The spokesperson’s remarks come in the backdrop of threats and attacks targeting Indian diplomatic missions in countries like the US, the UK, Australia and Canada.
Earlier, a ”Khalistani” poster sparked outrage across India as it called India’s High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma and Consul General in Toronto Apoorva Srivastava as “killers” of ”Khalistan Tiger Force” chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Threatening posters have also emerged online with images of Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami and Shashank Vikram, Consul General in Birmingham.
On Monday, Jaishankar told reporters that “radical, extremist Khalistani ideology” was not good for India or its partner countries such as the US, Canada, the UK and Australia.
“We have already requested our partner countries like Canada, the US, the UK and Australia where sometimes Khalistani activities happen, not to give space to Khalistanis. Because their radical, extremist thinking is neither good for us nor for them nor our relations,” he said, when asked about the threatening posters emerging in these countries and the Indian Consulate in San Francisco being targeted for arson.