‘Unacceptable’: India on Khalistani posters in Canada, UK

NEW DELHI: India on Wednesday reacted strongly to Khalistani elements putting up posters targeting its diplomats in Canada, saying that such acts are “unacceptable”.
The ministry of external affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that the Indian government has condemned the issue and has also taken it up with the Justin Trudeau administration.
He said that no space should be given to extremist and terrorist elements in the name of “freedom of expression”.
“The issue is not about freedom of expression but its misuse for advocating violence and propagating separatism and legitimising terrorism,” Bagchi said during a media briefing.

He added that the safety of Indian diplomats and its missions is of utmost importance for the Modi government.
The remarks come in the backdrop of threats and attacks targeting Indian diplomatic missions in countries like US, Australia and Canada.
Earlier, a Khalistani poster sparked outrage across India as it called India’s high commissioner to Ottawa Sanjay

Kumar Verma

and consul general in Toronto Apoorva Srivastava as “killers” of the

Khalistan

Tiger Force chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Some threatening posters have also emerged online with images of Indian high commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami and Dr Shashank Vikram, the Consul General of India in Birmingham.
On Monday, external affairs minister S Jaishankar told reporters that “radical, extremist Khalistani ideology” is 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.
(With inputs from agencies)