Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh has strongly condemned Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s unsubstantiated allegations about Indian involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Khalistani extremist and wanted terrorist, in Canada. In an opinion article for The Indian Express (behind paywall), Singh highlighted the Indian government’s previous efforts to raise concerns about Canada sheltering anti-India elements and terrorists, accusing Canada of providing “political asylum” to individuals involved in terrorism.
He cited a list of A-category terrorists presented to Trudeau during a meeting in 2018, which Canada allegedly ignored.
“When I met Trudeau as Chief Minister of Punjab on behalf of the Government of India in February 2018 at Amritsar, I handed over a list of nine A-category terrorists to him for action,” he wrote. “But the Canadian government chose to ignore the list completely.”
Singh, however, said that the allegations levelled by Trudeau “do not come as a surprise as he plays to the extremist gallery”.
He described the situation as a “classic case of the pot calling the kettle black,” asserting that Canada itself has harboured anti-India activities.
The former chief minister pointed to past attacks on Indian consulates and Hindu places of worship in Canada, questioning whether the Canadian government had taken appropriate action against those responsible for these acts of violence.
Hitting out at Trudeau for not curbing anti-India activities on Canadian soil, he dismissed the excuse of “freedom of expression” for acts of subversion.
Singh speculated that Trudeau’s allegations might be influenced by political factors, including his minority government’s reliance on the support of the New Democratic Party led by Jagmeet Singh, a known Khalistan promoter. He also mentioned Trudeau’s low approval ratings as a possible motivation for his actions.
Drawing a parallel between Canada and Pakistan in their protection and patronage of anti-India forces, Singh called on India to intensify international pressure on Canada to hand over terrorists involved in heinous crimes on Indian soil.
“Pakistan may be doing it more discreetly for fear of international repercussions, Canada is doing it openly in the name of “liberal” values.”
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