As a diplomatic row rages between India and Canada over the killing of a Sikh separatist near Vancouver, a video has been shared repeatedly with a false claim it shows a Canadian official announcing a ban on a right-wing Hindu nationalist group. However, the man in the video is in fact the head of a Muslim body in Canada and not an official. A Canadian government spokeswoman told AFP it had not banned the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

The video was posted on September 21 on X, formerly known as Twitter, with the Hindi-language caption: "Canada has banned the RSS organisation with immediate effect. Should the same happen in India?"

In the clip, a man calls for punitive measures to be taken against New Delhi, including outlawing the RSS, the expulsion of India's top diplomat in Canada and a freeze on trade negotiations.

"We today call for the immediate banning of the RSS under the listing provisions in the criminal code and the removal of its agents from Canada," he says.

The false claim surfaced after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in September that there were "credible reasons" to believe Indian government agents were involved in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist, near Vancouver in June.

India dismissed Trudeau's allegations as "absurd", tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions followed, and India stopped processing visa applications for Canadians, AFP reported (archived link).

The RSS has historically played a major role in India's Hindu...

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