A motion to declare the 1984 anti-Sikh violence as genocide was rejected by the Canadian Parliament after it faced stiff objection from lawmakers like Chandra Arya.
Arya alleged that a “politically-driven Khalistani lobby” was behind this attempt.
The motion was introduced by Sukh Dhaliwal — Member of Parliament from Surrey-Newton — who took to social media after the dismissal of his motion to say: “Today, I introduced a unanimous consent motion in Parliament to recognise the crimes committed against Sikhs in India during and after 1984 as genocide. Sadly, some Conservative MPs and one Liberal MP opposed it.”
Member of Parliament Arya also took to X to narrate how he objected to the motion.
Arya wrote in a post on X that he was the only member in the House who objected to the motion, and since unanimous consent was sought from all Members in the House of Commons, the motion did not pass.
The MP claimed that immediately after his veto, he was threatened inside the Parliament.
“There have been several attempts, both within the Parliament and outside, to stop me from freely and publicly voicing the concerns of Hindu-Canadians,” he wrote.
The MP, further, added that the Khalistani lobby may try to push for Parliament to label the 1984 riots as genocide.
Arya warned that all Hindu-Canadians might not be in the House the next time such a motion is heard.
Hence, he urged all of them to reach out to their local MPs to oppose this motion.
“The 1984 anti-Sikh riots in India, which followed the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards, were undeniably barbaric. Thousands of innocent Sikhs lost their lives in those horrific events, and we all condemn this brutality without reservation. However, labeling these tragic and dreadful riots as a genocide is misleading and unjustified,” he wrote, adding that such an assertion will fuel the agenda of anti-Hindu forces and risks driving a wedge between the Hindu and Sikh communities in Canada.
“The only way to prevent Canada’s Parliament from declaring the 1984 riots as genocide is by standing up unanimously everytime when a consent is sought,” he added.
Meanwhile, in another post on X, New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh, who has been vocal for Sikh riots, revealed his dismay at the motion being shunned in the Parliament.
“Today, in the Foreign Affairs Committee the Liberals and Conservatives teamed up to block a motion to recognise the Sikh Genocide. They’ve known about this for months. They could have spent the time to listen to the concerns of the community. Instead, they turned their backs on justice,” he wrote on X.
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