Canada opposition leader cancels Diwali celebrations amid diplomatic row; Indian community says 'feeling betrayed'

Canada’s opposition leader Pierre Poilievre

Canada’s opposition leader Pierre Poilievre has cancelled the annual Diwali celebrations which were scheduled to take place at Parliament Hill amid the ongoing diplomatic row with India.

Shiv Bhasker, the president of Overseas Friends of India Canada (OFIC) which organises the event, wrote a letter to the office of the opposition expressing disappointment over the decision.

"For the past 23 years, Hindus, Buddhist, Jains and Sikhs have looked forward to participating in this joyous occasion to share and celebrate this day with all our Canadian brothers and sisters," he said.

The OFIC chief said that the diplomatic row between India and Canada has left the Indian community feeling "betrayed and unjustly singled out."

He added that politicians snubbing an important cultural event like this sends a clear message to Indo-Canadians that they are being viewed not as fellow Canadians, but as "outsiders".

"Racism and discrimination are thriving in Canada, and this latest development has laid bare the systemic biases that still exist. Our politicians, by recusing themselves from these cultural celebrations, have sent a message-intentionally or not-that we, as OFIC Canadians of Indian heritage are not fully part of this nation, that we are somehow less Canadian because of our ancestral ties to India," he said.

The community demanded an apology for the "insensitive and discriminatory act".

Notably, US President Joe Biden hosted over 600 eminent Indian Americans for a grand Diwali party at the White House on Tuesday.

Ties between India and Canada have nosedived after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations of New Delhi's involvement in the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar and interference in the country's elections.

India has denied the charges and called them "absurd".