Deepak Obhrai, M.P. hosts the 12th National Diwali Celebration in Ottawa

1 November 2012-Ottawa - Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Hemant Panwar play the harmonium at the 12^th Annual Diwali Celebration

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(Ottawa) Deepak Obhrai, M.P. and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, hosted the 12th National Diwali Celebration today at the Government Conference Centre in Ottawa, across from Parliament Hill.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper joined Deepak and an overflowing crowd of more than 600 people at a glittering ceremony that included Cabinet Ministers, Members of Parliament, Senators, diplomats and Indo-Canadians from across the country.
Addressing the gathering, Deepak said: “We have come a long way since I inaugurated this event back in 1998. As I stand here for the 12th year and look around this large auditorium with an overflowing crowd, I can be happy that we have achieved what we set out to do. “
“Today, Diwali is truly a national Canadian celebration. People have travelled from all across the country to be a part of this national celebration. We had a guest list of over 800 people registered to attend the event. I had to request our community organizations to prune their lists, because this hall cannot accommodate all the people.”
Deepak thanked Prime Minister Stephen Harper for his unwavering support for the National Diwali Celebration, by attending the event six times as Prime Minister. “His support has kept this dream alive. The credit goes to the Prime Minister for making this the National Diwali Celebration.”

StarBuzz, Toronto-