Freedom of expression is being misused by anti-India elements in Canada and elsewhere, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday amid a row over a controversial poster released by pro-Khalistani leaders in the North American country.
The poster is an invitation to a rally titled “Khalistan Freedom Rally” scheduled on July 8 in Toronto. Titled “Kill India”, the poster accuses Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma and Consul General of India in Toronto, Apoorva Srivastava, of assassinating Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Similar invitations carrying photographs of Indian diplomats in the UK and Australia have also emerged.
On Tuesday, India had summoned Canadian High Commissioner Cameron MacKay over the poster. A day before, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had urged Western countries not to give space to pro-Khalistan supporters, arguing that it would be bad for the relationship between the nations.
Earlier on Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had said that citizens in the country had the freedom of expression, but that the country would push back against violence and extremism in all its forms, the Hindustan Times.
#WATCH | We condemn this. We have taken up the issue with Canadian govt. We’ve seen media reports about comments by PM Trudeau. The issue is not about freedom of expression but its misuse for advocating…
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