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Commenting on current Indo-Canadian ties, former Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh said for PM Justin Trudeau, electoral compulsions are more important than decades-old relationships
Former Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh aired his views on the current Indo-Canadian relationship crisis. (Image: PTI/File)
It looks like, for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, electoral compulsions are more important than decades-old relationships, said former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday. He aired his views on the current Indo-Canadian relationship crisis amid an alleged Khalistani attack on a Hindu temple in Canada’s Brampton.
His statement came soon after India condemned the acts of violence, which it said were perpetrated by extremists and separatists at the Hindu Sabha Temple in Brampton. The ministry of external affairs (MEA) said it expects that those indulging in such violence “will be prosecuted”.
Amarinder Singh, who resigned from the post of the CM of Punjab under pressure from top Congress leadership in 2021, said Trudeau’s Canada was a “singular example” of how a government that patronises a terrorist or separatist movement for “political gain” is irresponsible and to a point “criminal”.
“It is not often that countries, friends for decades, should end up as have Canada and India today. The assassination of a person of extreme separatist views Hardeep Singh Nijjar, led to the prime minister of Canada Justin Trudeau pointing his finger, in a parliamentary statement, towards India as being responsible for this act,” (sic) he said in a four-page statement on X.
He said this was a violation of the sanctity of Parliament where a prime ministerial statement is taken as “the truth and nothing but the truth”. “Are electoral compulsions more important than decades old relationships, national commitments and age old Parliamentary traditions? For Trudeau, it seems so,” (sic) he said.
Singh said during his meeting with Trudeau while he was the Punjab CM, he had warned him of how Canada had become a “haven of the Khalistani separatist movement, which no Punjabi wanted, and also of gun running, drugs and gangsters”. He even gave him a list of 20 “actively involved” individuals, some of whom were also members of the Canadian leader’s cabinet, he said.
“Some years ago when I was Chief Minister of Punjab, I was aware of Canada’s approach to Sikh extremism being prevalent in that country, which was fast growing to which Trudeau not only turned a blind eye, but also patronized such people to enhance his political base,” the statement read.
Further, he spoke about how these “nefarious activities” have grown and continue to “destablize Punjab”. In an indirect shot at the current AAP regime, he said the state’s economy continues to stagnate as “Industry always enters when it visualizes peace and stability”.
“On the contrary today Gangsters are prevalent, weapons are freely used. Agriculture is becoming non profitable regardless of the increase in the States overall production, as input prices of fertilizers, oil and other essentials are becoming prohibitive, the minimum support price increases marginally on an annual basis. The reason is obvious!” (sic) he added.
- Location :
Chandigarh, India
