In 2022, Arya became the first member of parliament to speak in Kannada, his mother tongue, in the House of Commons of Canada. Arya blamed “Khalistani extremists” for vandalizing Hindu temples in Toronto. When filmmaker Leena Manimekalai faced backlash online for a poster of her movie Kaali, which depicted the Hindu goddess, Kali smoking and holding an LGBT flag, he condemned the poster on Twitter. This prompted criticism from over a hundred academics, activists and community organization members, who sent a letter to Canada's prime minister, Justin Trudeau.
