PM Modi met Canada counterpart Justin Trudeau on G7 sidelines last week
Sending a clear message after the Canadian parliament observed silence in the memory of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Indian Consulate General in Vancouver announced a memorial service to pay tribute to the 329 victims of the Khalistani bombing of Air India Kanishka flight in 1985.
"India stands at the forefront of countering the menace of terrorism and works closely with all nations to tackle this global threat. 23 June 2024 marks the 39th Anniversary of the cowardly terrorist bombing of Air India flight 182 (Kanishka), in which 329 innocent victims, including 86 children, lost their lives in one of the most heinous terror-related air disasters in the history of civil aviation," the Consulate posted on X.
"A Memorial Service is scheduled at 1830 hrs on June 23, 2024 at the Air India Memorial at Stanley Park's Ceperley Playground area. @cgivancouver encourages members of the Indian Diaspora to join the event in a show of solidarity against terrorism. @HCI_Ottawa," it added.
The Air India Flight travelling from Montreal to London had blown up 31,000 feet above the ground when a bomb planted by Canadian Sikh terrorists went off. The 329 passengers killed in the incident included 268 Canadian citizens, 27 British citizens, and 24 Indian citizens. This bombing is among the deadliest acts of aviation terrorism.
The Indian Consulate's post came on the heels of the Canadian Parliament observing a moment of silence in the memory of Nijjar, who was shot dead outside a gurdwara in British Columbia last year. The Justin Trudeau-led Canadian administration has alleged that Indian government agents could be involved in the killing. New Delhi has trashed the allegations, describing them as motivated and absurd. Bilateral ties have since nosedived.
Nijjar's murder is being investigated by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and four Indian nationals have been arrested.
A video released by news agency IANS shows members of the Canadian parliament observing silence in the House of Commons. Speaker Greg Fergus starts the memorial by saying, "Following discussions among representatives of all parties in the House, I understand there is an agreement to observe a moment of silence in memory of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, assassinated in Surrey, British Columbia, one year ago today."
This comes days after Prime Minister Modi and Trudeau met in Italy during the G7 Summit and the Canadian Prime Minister said there is an "alignment" on several "big issues" with India and he sees an "opportunity" to engage with the new government.
Prime Minister Modi had posted an image on social media of him shaking hands with Trudeau with a one-liner: "met Canadian PM Justin Trudeau at the G7 Summit".
This was the first meeting between the two leaders after diplomatic ties were strained in the aftermath of Nijjar's killing. India has repeatedly flagged the space given to separatists and anti-India elements in Canada.
Following his meeting with Prime Minister Modi, Trudeau told CBC News that a big takeaway from the Summit is that "you get an opportunity to engage directly with a huge range of different leaders with whom there are various issues".
"Certainly with India, there are massive people to people ties, they're really important economic ties. There's alignment on a number of big issues that we need to work on as, as democracies in a global community. But now that he (Modi) is through his election, I think there is an opportunity for us to engage, including on some very serious issues around national security and keeping Canadians safe and the rule of law that we will be engaging," he said.