After Indo-Canadian community’s outrage, now Conservative Party MP to host Diwali celebration

Toronto: After the Indo-Canadian community expressed outrage over the abrupt cancellation of a traditional Diwali celebration on Parliament Hill by the Conservative Party, one of its MPs is now organising an event celebrating the festival in Ottawa next week.

The Celebration of Diwali on Parliament Hill was launched by late Conservative MP Deepak Obhrai in 1998. After his death in 2019, the event was hosted by another Conservative MP Todd Doherty. However, community members learnt recently that event, which their Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre had attended last year, scheduled for October 30, stood cancelled with no reason attributed for that decision.

Now, Doherty’s office has sent out invitation to Indo-Canadian community members for Diwali on the Hill on November 5.

But the Obhrai Foundation has disassociated itself from the event. In an emailed statement, Foundation chair Priti Obhrai-Martin (the late MP’s daughter) said, “While we encourage and are pleased by all those who wish to host Diwali political party celebrations, however the Official Deepak Obhrai’s 24th National Diwali Celebration on Parliament Hill is the one hosted by Chandra Arya, Liberal MP.”

“We are deeply saddened by the way the cancellation of the event was handled,” she said, adding that the decision “disrespected the many people” who were associated with the event and they, along with the community were “justified in feeling slighted”.

The event hosted by Arya is scheduled for November 16.

However, two Cabinet Ministers Anita Anand and Gary Anandasangaree are also hosting a Diwali celebration in Parliament on Monday, though that will be combined with a Bandi Chhor Diwas observance helmed by their colleagues Harjit Sajjan and Kamal Khera.

In an open letter to Poilievre, Dr Budhendranauth Doobay, chair of Richmond Hill, Ontario-based Voice of the Vedas Cultural Sabha Inc, said, “Cancelling this long-standing tradition undermines Canada’s identity as a much-loved multicultural nation and alienates those of us who reject extremism of all sorts including those with political patronage.”

Doobay also referred to the “spread of extremist ideologies and Khalistani extremism” going “unchecked”. In fact, some temples in the Greater Toronto Area and Metro Vancouver were provided police protection at their Diwali celebrations this year, a person familiar with the development told the Hindustan Times. That came after Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) general-counsel Gurpatwant Pannun released a video that there should be no fireworks to mark the festival as it was a Black Diwali. Though that message was directed to Punjab, Canadian authorities appeared to have taken it into consideration.

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