Surrey activist critical of Carney’s trip to India amid threats to his family

A Surrey Sikh activist is speaking out ahead of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s trip to India this month.

Moninder Singh, spokesperson for the B.C. Gurdwaras Council, says he continues to live under a shadow of threats due to his activism.

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He was a friend and colleague of high-profile Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was assassinated outside the Gura Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in June 2023.

For years, police had been warning both Nijjar and Singh of the potential of violence related to their push for the Khalistan or Sikh separatist movement.

Singh says the warnings have recently taken a more ominous tone, including risks to his wife and children.

“The VPD extended the warning to them, which has never happened before to any Sikh activist, or any activist that has been given this sort of warning,” Singh told OMNI News.

Carney’s visit to India follows years of tension between the two countries after then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the RCMP had evidence of possible connections between the Indian government and the killing of Nijjar.

Singh, who believes in that connection, says the Indian government is also behind the threats to his family.

“Going after women and children, I think, shows a new low when it comes to Indian state interference and trans-national activity in Canada,” he said.

In May 2024, four Indian nationals were charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder in relation to Nijjar’s death.

The case is now before the B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster.

In June last year, Carney defended inviting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the G7 summit in Alberta, claiming the two nations were making progress in “law-enforcement dialogue.”

Seeking new economic opportunities in trade, energy, technology and defence, Carney is scheduled to travel to India, Australia, and Japan between Feb. 26 and March 7.

World Sikh Organization of Canada criticizes Ottawa

In an interview with 1130 NewsRadio, Balpreet Singh, a legal counsel at the World Sikh Organization of Canada, criticizes the Canadian government for not requesting accountability from its Indian counterpart.

“It’s a real reflection on the fact that India takes Canada as a joke,” Singh said.

He calls on Carney to not only talk about trade during his visit to India.

“Our Prime Minister is interested in economics and making sure India buys more lentils, but he is not interested in the security of Canadians, in the rule of law and ensuring our sovereignty and making sure there’s no foreign interference,” Singh said.

He seems frustrated with how Ottawa treats India in light of extortion threats that Singh claims Canadian officials have linked to the government of India.

“What does it take for our government to put its foot down and say this has to stop? Instead of talking about, well, we have to talk about supply chains, and we are going to have this great opportunity in India, great,” Singh said.

“But I mean, you have bodies on the ground here. What are you doing about that? It’s very disappointing.”

He calls the people behind the threats against Moninder Singh “despicable.”

“Our government will buckle its knees and say you will buy our gas. And once again, it’s disgusting, and it feels like we are not equal citizens. It feels like second-class citizenship.”

—With files from OMNI News and The Canadian Press