Canadian politicians don't have backbone: Ex-minister on Hindu temple attack

Speaking to India Today TV, Ujjal Dosanjh called out the politicians, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, for "absolute cowardice" on their part to not call out Khalistanis while condemning the attack on Hindu temples. 

In Short

• Ujjal Dosanjh said politicians not naming Khalistani terrorists was 'gutlessness'
• He accused Trudeau of damaging Canada, fuelling pro-Khalistan movement
• Dosanjh claimed most Canadian Sikhs, Hindus want peaceful co-existence

Former Canada minister Ujjal Dosanjh has accused the country's top politicians of "not having a backbone" for not directly referring to pro-Khalistan members while condemning the attack on Hindu temples in the country.

Speaking to India Today TV, Ujjal Dosanjh called out the politicians, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, for "absolute cowardice" on their part to not call out Khalistanis.

"Unfortunately, I see all three political leaders make denunciatory statements about what happened at the temples, but they didn't name the Khalistanis, they didn't call them out. That is gutlessness and that's absolute cowardice...political cowardice on their part," Ujjal Dosanjh said.

Ujjal Dosanjh served as the 33rd Premier of British Columbia. He has been vocal against violence by Sikh extremists and was brutally attacked on two occasions for his stand.

While referring to Canadian Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre cancelling a Diwali event, Dosanjh said, "These politicians don't have a backbone".

Ujjal Dosanjh asserted that Khalistanis have used the 1984 anti-sikh riots to create a permanent wedge between the Hindu and Sikh communities. The attack on the Hindu temples in Surrey and Brampton was another such attempt, he said.

He said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was doing "great damage" to Canada, adding that the pro-Khalistan movement has been at its all-time high under his rule.

Ujjal Dosanjh said that the majority of the Canadian Sikhs and Hindus want to live in peace. "My beef with Justin Trudeau is that he never stood up for the Canadian culture. He always says to immigrants 'You can come and be who you are'. My view is, if you want to be who you are, you already are...why come to Canada?" he asked.

Two Hindu temples in Brampton and Surrey were attacked by members of pro-Khalistan movement on Sunday. Viral videos showed protesters carrying Khalistani flags clashing with devotees at the Hindu Sabha temple in Brampton.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the violence against Indians by pro-Khalistan supporters in Canada. "I strongly condemn the deliberate attack on a Hindu temple in Canada. Equally appalling are the cowardly attempts to intimidate our diplomats," he said.

The relationship between India and Canada took a sharp downturn in September last year when Trudeau alleged that Indian agents might have been involved in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a claim outrightly rejected by New Delhi.