A Liberal MP called out a caucus colleague Friday for alleged threats made over a controversial vote. 

MP Chandra Arya said Sukh Dhaliwal, who tabled a motion to recognize the 1984 “Sikh Genocide,” used threatening language over his dissent. 

“On the way out of this chamber the member threatened that I would be f—d up,” Arya told a hushed House. 

A second MP also “aggressively accosted” him following the vote. Their identity remains undisclosed, reported Blacklock’s.

Two Liberal MPs aren’t getting along.

Arya Chandra, is allowed to vote freely. But Sukh Dhaliwal, is intimidating him outside of the House.

These are non Canadian topics, and it’s not parliamentary to bring religious beef into the house.

More info in comments. pic.twitter.com/CpK4Q5L9mo

— Brattani (@Bratt_world) December 7, 2024

“I feel that as a member of Parliament I should be able to express my opinion and my views freely in the House,” MP Arya said. “I should not feel threatened by any words or actions of my fellow members.”

MP Dhaliwal sought unanimous consent for the following motion: “That the House acknowledge and recognize crimes committed against Sikhs within India in 1984 constituted a genocide.”

“I rise today to address the Sikh genocide,” said MP Dhaliwal. “No!” shouted MP Arya. Thus the motion was lost. 

“I was the only member present in the House to say no,” Arya said in a statement, prompting backlash from caucus members.

MP Dhaliwal would not say if he had threatened his Liberal colleague, but stopped short of contradicting MP Arya, who recalled the alleged intimidation.

Today, the Member of Parliament from Surrey-Newton attempted to have the Parliament declare the 1984 riots in India against Sikhs as a genocide.

He sought unanimous consent from all Members in the House of Commons to pass his motion.

I was the only Member present in the House… pic.twitter.com/wENlwUd234

— Chandra Arya (@AryaCanada) December 6, 2024

“While I am proud in having stopped this divisive agenda from succeeding today, we cannot afford to be complacent,” said MP Arya. “Next time we may not be as fortunate,” he claimed. 

The MP refused the “genocide” label, noting thousands of Hindus and Sikhs perished in violent riots spanning four days in November 1984. He condemned the brutality on both sides without reservation, Blacklock’s learned.

“The politically powerful Khalistani lobby will undoubtedly try again to push the Parliament to label the 1984 riots as genocide,” he continued. 

“I urge all Hindu Canadians to act now,” said Arya. “Reach out to your local members of Parliament and secure their commitment to oppose this motion whenever it arises.”

“There is no guarantee I will be in the House to block it the next time.”

The Indian government has long accused Canada of harbouring Khalistani extremists, dating back to the bombing of Air India Flight 182 in 1985. Inderjit Singh Reyat, the sole convicted plotter, was responsible for the deaths of 329 people aboard.

MORE: https://t.co/aE5ViPrl4r pic.twitter.com/XdL7tymV3t

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) September 18, 2023

The Indian government has long accused Canada of harbouring Khalistani extremists, dating back to the 1985 bombing of Air India Flight 182.

Inderjit Singh Reyat — the lone plotter convicted — killed 329 people aboard, including 268 Canadian citizens, 27 British citizens, and 24 Indian citizens. Among many of the casualties were Hindus.

The issue intensified following the shooting death of a Sikh separatist and gurdwara leader in June 2023, prompting heated counter-protests that concerned the Indian government.

Harder Singh Nijjar, who came to Canada in 1997 under false pretenses, used a false passport to enter Canada and seek asylum, reported Global News. He was accused of conspiring to kill a Hindu priest in Punjab and labelled a terrorist in 2016 by India for his alleged involvement in a 2007 Punjab bombing.

Justin Trudeau says Canada is investigating allegations that "agents of the government of India" were behind the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a prominent Sikh leader in British Columbia. pic.twitter.com/x7gEL3bacz

— True North (@TrueNorthCentre) September 18, 2023

Prime Minister Narendra Modi prefaced general concerns with Sikh separatists, and whether his diplomats would be safe visiting Canada moving forward.

The secessionist Sikhs for Justice group made a public plea last year for the home addresses of Indian diplomats, prompting Ottawa to offer round-the-clock security to India's diplomats whenever they visit Canada.

India also denounced a float depicting the 1984 assassination of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by two Sikh bodyguards for allowing soldiers to storm the Golden Temple, the holiest site of the Sikh faith.

The Trudeau government maintains that freedom of speech means groups can voice political opinions so long as they are not violent.

“We are always there to prevent violence, to push back against hatred,” Trudeau said, clarifying the float does not represent the Sikh community in Canada, where the largest diaspora outside India resides.

The Indian government then lumped threats against their diplomats with the promotion of Sikh secessionism in a prior statement.

.@PierrePoilievre says PM Trudeau needs to provide more facts after the government expelled an Indian diplomat and accused India of being behind the murder of a Khalistani activist in B.C.

Poilievre also points out that in contrast, Trudeau was aware of China’s foreign… pic.twitter.com/xoGkZ2aiUV

— True North (@TrueNorthCentre) September 19, 2023

Relations have deteriorated ever since the Trudeau government invited a convicted Sikh separatist to dine with Trudeau at a 2018 dinner hosted by the Canadian High Commissioner in Delhi.

In February 2018, then-Liberal MP for Surrey Centre, Randeep Sarai, invited Jaspal Atwal, who attempted to murder Indian cabinet minister Malkiat Singh Sidhu on Vancouver Island in 1986. Trudeau faced a media firestorm at the time.

“We take this situation extremely seriously. The individual in question never should have received an invitation, and as soon as we found out, we rescinded the invitation immediately,” he told reporters then. 

Relations further deteriorated after Trudeau issued support for Sikh farmers protesting the Indian government in 2020 and 2021. Riots claimed the lives of nearly 700 people, including farmers.

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