Three-time Liberal MP Chandra Arya of Ottawa Nepean has been disqualified from contesting the next elections on the party's ticket on supposed grounds of foreign interference related to India. But Arya suspects that the real motive for his disqualification is his vocal opposition to the Khalistani extremist group in Canada.
The Hindu Hindu MP of Indian origin has been a vocal critic of ex-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, calling him out for providing shelter to pro-Khalistani forces in Canada.
Reacting to a media report of his candidacy being withdrawn, Arya said, "As a Member of Parliament, I have met with many diplomats and government heads, both within Canada and abroad. Not once have I asked — or been asked to ask — the government's permission to do so. Never once did former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau or any cabinet minister object to my meetings or public remarks. The only area of dispute with the Liberal Party has been my vocal support on matters significant to Hindu Canadians and my unequivocal opposition to Khalistani extremism."
The Globe and Mail reported that Arya went to New Delhi in August last year and met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi without informing the Canadian government, even as diplomatic relations between Canada and India were strained.
The Liberal Party has not officially stated the reasons why Arya was not invited to either the party's leadership contest or his re-election campaign for Ottawa Nepean. The newspaper, however, quoted a source from the Liberal Party as saying that the government was briefed by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) regarding Arya's reported close relationships with India's High Commission in Ottawa. Security-clearance officials, who received a generic CSIS briefing on foreign interference, reportedly questioned his connections.
In December, Arya spoke before the House of Commons, complaining that fellow Liberal MP Sukh Dhaliwal had threatened him outside the chambers after he wouldn't vote to pass a motion calling the 1984 India anti-Sikh riots "genocide." He also said that another MP "aggressively accosted" him in the government lobby.
"As a Member of Parliament, I should be free to express my view, my opinion freely in the House and I should not feel threatened by any word or act of my colleagues," Arya had said back then.
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