Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has said he has been to ‘three different Hindu temples over the past few months,’ in a clip he shared for Diwali.
The clip also shows Trudeau visiting a temple on the Festival of Lights.
“I got these bracelets when I was in three different Hindu temples over the past few months. They’re good luck. Yeah, protection,” he says in the video pointing to religious threads on his wrist.
It then shows the Liberal Party leader meeting members of the Hindu community at the temple, where he is offered a plate of ‘jalebis.’
The Canadian premier says he will save the sweets for the ‘team.’
Earlier, in a statement on October 31, the Diwali day, Trudeau called the festival a ‘holiday of hope.’
“Diwali in Canada would not be possible without our incredible Indo-Canadian community. Indo-Canadians represent the best of Canada – as artists and entrepreneurs, as doctors and teachers, as leaders in business, community, and culture,” the statement quoted him as saying.
“Diwali is especially important to Hindu Canadians – one of Canada’s largest and most diverse diasporas. In November, as we mark Hindu Heritage Month in Canada, let us join the community and celebrate. We will always stand with Hindu Canadians to ensure their safety and security so they can freely and proudly practise their religion.,” it stated.
Since September 2023, Canada and India have been in a tense diplomatic faceoff over Ottawa’s charge that ‘agents of the Indian government’ were involved in the June murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, an India-born Canadian national designated as ‘terrorist’ in India for his pro-Khalistan activities.
While rejecting the Canadian allegation, New Delhi has accused Ottawa of ‘turning a blind eye’ to its concern regarding Khalistan, a Sikh nation that would include India’s Punjab region.