International

Justin Trudeau’s Cabinet Minister, Wife pose with Khalistani militant Jaspal Atwal, cause uproar

Jaspal Atwal apart from having Khalistani links was also sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment after being found guilty of attempted murder of Punjab Minister.

 

The controversies surrounding Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s India visit seem to be deepening. After allegedly being snubbed by the Indian government at the time of his arrival in the country, Justin Trudeau had to spend most of his official visit as a family trip with no major leader accompanying him. His meet with Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh was put on hold too. But, the Punjab CM later agreed to meet him on Wednesday.

However, just a day after meeting Amarinder Singh and giving him a firm assurance on taking strong action against Sikh extremism, it has been learnt that a militant affiliated with Khalistan movement had been invited for Trudeau’s official visit at Mumbai.

Jaspal Atwal apart from having Khalistani links was also sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment after being found guilty of attempted murder of Punjab Minister. Atwal twice shot at Punjab Minister Malkiat Singh Sidhu in Vancouver in 1986. However, he survived the attack. He was later killed in India.

Atwal was also an active member International Sikh Youth Federation. It is an organization working to achieve separate Khalistan state which was banned by European Union, US, Canada and India. Jaspal Atwal has considerable presence in the politics of Canada and active at both provincial and federal level.

On Tuesday, Justin Trudeau was in Mumbai where he met several Bollywood personalities and businessmen. At the same event, Jaspal Atwal clicked a picture with Canada’s Minister of infrastructure and Community Amarjeet Sohi and Trudeau’s wife Sophie. The pictures went viral on social media and received widespread flak from people.

Kirsty Duncan, a Minister in the Trudeau delegation promptly issued a statement saying the invitation has been rolled back. Duncan said, “This person definitely should not have been invited. We are investigating how it happened.”

Apart from being a major embarrassment, Justin Trudeau’s wife and a cabinet minister posing with a convicted Khalistani militant also have damaged the reviving talks between India and Canada. Trudeau will tomorrow meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. It is to be seen now whether this issue is raised in the bilateral discussion or not.

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