Trudeau unfortunately walked into trap, says Amarinder Singh

Chandigarh, Sep 19 (IANS) Senior BJP leader and former Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Tuesday dismissed the claims of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that there was an Indian hand in the murder of Khalistani activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Capt Amarinder said the murder was the result of a factional feud within the management of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey in Canada.

The former Chief Minister said Trudeau had unfortunately walked into a trap owing to vote-bank politics and put at stake the diplomatic relationship between India and Canada.

Capt Amarinder said it was highly irresponsible for the Prime Minister of a country to make a statement without any evidence only because he was playing to the vote-bank gallery.

He pointed out that it was an irrefutable fact that the Trudeau administration had given a free hand to anti-India forces in that country. He said Indian missions there were attacked and diplomats intimidated but there was no corrective action by the Canadian government.

“Has the Canadian government taken any action against the culprits who attacked Indian missions there?” he asked, while adding Trudeau by levelling such allegations was only trying to deflect the attention from his own failures to curb anti-India activities in that country.

Capt Amarinder said he had brought it to Trudeau’s notice as to how Canadian land was being used against India.

He said in a statement that when he met Trudeau during his Indian visit in 2018 in an Amritsar hotel he had shared all information with him.

Instead of seeing the Canadian government taking any remedial measures, there was an increase in anti-India activities in that country.

He said the reason he had refused to meet the then Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Singh Sajjan during his India visit was because he (Sajjan) was associated with the World Sikh Organisation which had a record of working against India.

The former Chief Minister appreciated the central government's decision to expel a Canadian diplomat for his involvement in encouraging anti-India activities.