The External Affairs Ministry on Thursday confirmed the cancellation of some of the scheduled consular camps in view of the security agencies conveying their inability to provide minimum security protection to the community camp organisers.
“You would have seen the message posted by our consulate in Toronto that they have had to cancel the consular camp that they were planning to organise over the weekend because they did not get adequate security or security assurance from the government,” Randhir Jaiswal, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson, said in a weekly press briefing in the national capital.
“We have a large diaspora in Canada. Many of these people, especially around the months of November, and December. They need documentation for the continuation of their pensions and several other activities here in India. So this consulate camp that we do is helpful to the community, to both people of Indian nationality and people who are of Indian origin but Canadian nationals today, ” he added.
“I do understand that in other parts of Canada, Vancouver for example, the consular camps will be conducted. These consular camps are conducted at the request of the community organizations. So where the community organization is comfortable, we will go ahead with these consular camps,” he noted.
The announcement by the Consulate comes merely days after violent disruption was orchestrated by anti-India extremists was seen when the Indian consulate had co-organised a consular camp outside the Hindi Sabha Temple in Brampton, near Toronto. India registered its protest from the highest echelons with Prime Minister Narendra Modi too expressing anguish over the incident.
The Indian High Commission issued a Press Statement after the violent attacks in Brampton. “The High Commission of India in Ottawa and Consulate General of India in Vancouver and Toronto have organised consular camps for the benefit and ease of local life certificate beneficiaries. One account of the prevailing security situation in Canada, the Canadian authorities had been requested well in advance to provide strong security measures for these events, which constitute routine consular work”. The High Commission had also said, “It is deeply disappointing to see such disruptions being allowed for routine consular work being organised by our consulates with the fullest cooperation of local co-organisers. We also remain very concerned for the safety of applicants including Indian nationals, on whose demand such events are organised in the first place”.
