Canada: Sikh Politician calls for RSS ban, diplomatic sanctions on India amid rising tensions
Ottawa: Amid growing diplomatic tensions between India and Canada following the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Canadian New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh on Monday urged the Canadian government to impose diplomatic sanctions on India and ban the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) network in Canada. Singh, a former ally of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, expressed deep concerns for the safety of the Sikh community in Canada and backed the expulsion of Indian diplomats.
In a statement, Singh called for decisive action, stating, “We support today’s decision to expel India’s diplomats and we’re calling on the Government of Canada to put diplomatic sanctions against India in place, ban the RSS network in Canada, and commit to pursuing severe consequences for anyone involved in organised criminal activity on Canadian soil.”
Singh's comments followed the release of a report by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), which highlighted growing threats, harassment, and violence faced by the Sikh community. The report outlined critical issues, including violent extremism, potential links between Indian government agents and homicides, and interference in Canada's democratic processes.
Singh also alleged that Canada has credible evidence linking Indian officials to Nijjar’s assassination. He stressed the need for accountability, emphasising that multiple individuals had been indicted by the United States for related crimes. Singh further claimed that 13 people in Canada had received warnings of serious threats to their lives since September 2023.
Nijjar, labelled a terrorist by India's National Investigation Agency in 2020, was killed outside a gurdwara in Surrey, Canada, in June 2023.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
