India raises concerns over describing 1984 riots as genocide

India has sternly conveyed its displeasure to Canada over a provincial assembly resolution, which described the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in India as a genocide.

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley communicated this to his Canadian counterpart Harjit Singh Sajjan, during a delegation-level talks here.

Jaitley told Sajjan, there was “considerable amount of disquiet in India” over the resolution as the language used in the document showed a “highly unreal and exaggerated analysis of the situation” in India.

The resolution was a private members’ motion moved by Harinder Malhi, a member of Ontario provincial Parliament, near Toronto. It received support from 34 members.

During the bilateral talks on Tuesday, Jaitley expressed the government’s concern over the resolution, which went against the spirit of the India-Canada relations.

Sajjan, on his part explained that since it was a private member’s resolution, nothing much should be read in to it as local political factors are behind that motion.

The resolution reflects
neither the views of the Canadian federal government nor the provincial government, said the visiting defence minister, who explored several ways to expand the defence cooperation between India and Canada.