Two Canadian lawmakers have urged the federal government to prevent RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat from entering the country, arguing that his planned visit could pose a threat to public safety and exacerbate social tensions.
New Democratic Party (NDP) MPs Heather McPherson and Jenny Kwan made the request in a letter sent on Friday to Canada’s ministers responsible for public safety, immigration and foreign affairs. Bhagwat is expected to visit Canada from August 31 to September 1 as part of a global outreach tour.
The lawmakers also called for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to be banned in Canada. The organisation is widely regarded as the ideological parent organisation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), India’s ruling party.
In their letter, McPherson and Kwan alleged that Bhagwat has a history of hate speech, support for violence against religious minorities and intimidation of critics in both India and Canada. They also cited what they described as his links to criminal and listed terrorist organisations, and urged the government to declare him inadmissible to Canada.
The MPs pointed to what they called “considerable evidence” of the RSS’s influence in Canada, alleging that Muslims, Sikhs, Dalits and other minority communities in India have faced intimidation and violent threats.
They also referred to statements by United Nations human rights experts who have urged Canada to ensure that members of the Sikh community are protected from violent threats allegedly posed by Hindutva extremist groups, including the RSS.
“Mr Bhagwat’s presence in Canada would be a danger to Canadians,” the MPs said in their letter, adding that he was “not welcome” in the country.
The organisations said Bhagwat’s proposed visit raised public-safety concerns and called on the Canadian government to protect communities from what they described as far-right extremism, hate speech and foreign intimidation. The calls come ahead of Bhagwat’s expected August 31–September 1 visit to Canada, which is part of his wider global outreach tour.
