Member of Parliament, House of Commons of Canada, Chandra Arya on Friday (local time) condemned the defacing of Ram Mandir in Mississauga with anti-India graffiti and said that the Hindu temples have become the target of hate crimes in Canada.
"It is with pain and anguish that I state the Ram Mandir, a Hindu temple in Mississauga has become the latest target of hate crime. In recent times other Hindu temples across Canada have been targets of hate crimes by anti-Hindu and anti-India groups," Aryan said in the parliament as per the statement shared by MP on Twitter.
"These groups first joined hands-on social media targeting Hindu-Canadians and starting the trend of Hinduphobia. Now they have moved on to physical attacks on Hindu temples. There are reports that individual Hindu Canadians are also being targeted. As I have said before, Canada needs to take the issue seriously and address the growing Hinduphobia. As Canadians, we practice, celebrate, and share our many different religious faiths and heritage peacefully and let us all pledge to continue to do so," he added.
This statement came after the Ram Mandir in Mississauga was defaced with anti-India graffiti.
Earlier, the Consulate General of India in Toronto on Tuesday (local time) condemned the defacing of Ram Mandir in Mississauga with anti-India graffiti.
It requested Canadian authorities to investigate the incident and take prompt action against the perpetrators.
This is not the first time that a Hindu Temple in Canada was defaced with anti-India graffiti. Earlier, a Hindu Temple in Brampton in Canada was defaced in January with anti-India graffiti triggering outrage among the Indian community.
The Indian Consulate General in Toronto condemned the vandalism at the Gauri Shankar Mandir stating that the act has deeply hurt the sentiments of the Indian community in Canada.
The consulate office in a statement said "We strongly condemn the defacing of Gauri Shankar Mandir in Brampton, a symbol of Indian heritage, with anti-India graffiti. The hateful act of vandalism has deeply hurt the sentiments of the Indian community in Canada. We have raised our concerns on the matter with Canadian authorities."
Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown also condemned the vandalism and the Canadian authorities are investigating the incident.
"This hateful act of vandalism has no place in our City or Country," adding that he had raised his concerns over this hate crime with Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah," Brampton Mayor tweeted.
"Everyone deserves to feel safe in their place of worship," the Brampton Mayor said.
Earlier in September 2022, BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in Canada was defaced by 'Canadian Khalistani extremists' with anti-India graffiti.
Also, a statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the Vishnu Mandir in Richmond Hill in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) was defaced in July 2022.
In both instances, pro-Khalistan slogans were painted and the vandalization was promoted on social media by pro-Pakistan handles.
( With inputs from ANI )
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