Skip to main content

Capt Amarinder Singh denied permission to address Canadian diaspora, terms it "gag order" in letter to Trudeau

By Our Representative
In a surprise development, senior Congress leader from Punjab, Captain Amarinder Singh, who also happens to be deputy leader of the Congress' parliamentary party, has been denied permission to address Punjabi diaspora in two Canadian cities -- Toronto and Vancouver. Singh says he was informed about this by India's foreign secretary Dr S Jaishankar.
Calling it a “gag order”, Singh has said in his letter to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, "Your government has invoked the provisions of some Global Affairs Canada (GAC) policy that forbids foreign governments to conduct election campaigns in Canada or establish foreign political parties and movements in Canada".
Ahead of the denial to allow him the interaction, the Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) reportedly tried to block Singh.
A Toronto-based law firm, on behalf of the SFJ, sent a memorandum to foreign minister Stephane Dion, claiming Singh’s visit would "violate" a 2011 circular which did not allow foreign governments to conduct election campaigns in Canada or establish foreign political parties or movements in Canada.
"I was scheduled to interact with the Punjabi diaspora living in the two cities”, Singh says, adding, "Needless to say, it has come as a disappointment that someone representing the largest democracy in the world has been refused to reach out to, and interact with, his fellow Punjabis living in a respected democracy like Canada."
Saying that the "gag order” has left “a very bad taste, more so when issued by a democratic government like the Canadian", Singh says it is "surprising and ironical” that the refusal to allow him public interaction has come barely after few weeks of Trudeau's personal regret over the Komagata Maru tragedy (click HERE to read).
Claiming he had “no intention” to carry election campaign, “as there are no elections right now in Punjab”, Singh says, he does not have "any plans to set up any political party or movement in Canada".
Insisting that India "has already given" all such freedoms in letter and spirit”, and "we really don't need to carry out any such activities anywhere outside", Singh says, "Our country extends such freedoms to others as well and we don't restrict it to our citizens alone as we believe that the freedom of expression is a universal right and should be respected by, and guaranteed to, one and all."
Pointing out that he had planned to visit Canada to "interact with fellow Punjabis at personal level to learn about their experiences and seek their opinions", Singh says, "They, being the citizens of Canada, do not have any voting rights in India."
"Hence", he adds, "there is no point in carrying out election campaign amongst them, and that too when there are no elections scheduled in Punjab right now or in immediate future."
The letter reminds the Canadian Prime Minister that he had visited Canada in 2005 when he was the Chief Minister of Punjab and "addressed gatherings at Vancouver and Toronto, which were attended by the local premiers also."
He further reminds Trudeau that during the last one year, several political leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and some opposition leaders visited Canada and they addressed public functions and nobody objected, Singh says, "I am surprised as why I have been singed out for this honour of being denied a similar permission."
Insisting that the Canadian constitution under Section 2 guarantees fundamental freedoms which also include, freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association, Singh tells Trudeau that the Canadian government's "gag order undermines these fundamental freedoms".

Comments

TRENDING

Importance of Bangladesh for India amidst 'growing might' of China in South Asia

By Samara Ashrat*  The basic key factor behind the geopolitical importance of Bangladesh is its geographical location. The country shares land borders with Myanmar and India. Due to its geographical position, Bangladesh is a natural link between South Asia and Southeast Asia.  The country is also a vital geopolitical ally to India, in that it has the potential to facilitate greater integration between Northeast India and Mainland India. Not only that, due to its open access to the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh has become significant to both China and the US.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

'BBC film shows only tip of iceberg': Sanjiv Bhatt's daughter speaks at top US press club

By Our Representative   The United States' premier journalists' organisation, the National Press Club (NPC), has come down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recent "attacks on journalists in India." Speaking at the screening of an episode of the BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question,” banned in India, in the club premises, NPC President Eileen O’Reilly said, “Since Modi came to power we have watched with frustration and disappointment as his regime has suppressed the rights of its citizens to a free and independent news media."

Chinese pressure? Left stateless, Rohingya crisis result of Myanmar citizenship law

By Dr Shakuntala Bhabani*  A 22-member team of Myanmar immigration officials visited Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar to verify more than 400 Rohingya refugees as part of a pilot repatriation project. Does it hold out any hope for the forcibly displaced people to return to their ancestral homes in the Rakhine state of Myanmar? Only time will tell.

China ties up with India, Bangladesh to repatriate Rohingyas; Myanmar unwilling

By Harunur Rasid*  We now have a new hope, thanks to news reports that were published in the Bangladeshi dailies recently. Myanmar has suddenly taken initiatives to repatriate Rohingyas. As part of this initiative, diplomats from eight countries posted in Yangon were flown to Rakhine last week. Among them were diplomats from Bangladesh, India and China.

Natural farming: Hamirpur leads the way to 'huge improvement' in nutrition, livelihood

By Bharat Dogra*  Santosh is a dedicated farmer who along with his wife Chunni Devi worked very hard in recent months to convert a small patch of unproductive land into a lush green, multi-layer vegetable garden. This has ensured year-round supply of organically grown vegetables to his family as well as fetched several thousand rupees in cash sales.

Over-stressed? As Naveen Patnaik turns frail, Odisha 'moves closer' to leadership crisis

By Sudhansu R Das  Not a single leader in Odisha is visible in the horizon who can replace Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He has ruled Odisha for nearly two and half decades. His father, Biju Patnaik, had built Odisha; he was a daring pilot who saved the life of Indonesia’s Prime Minister Sjahrir and President Sukarno when the Dutch army blocked their exit.

Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Ban Ki-moon, others ask Bangladesh PM to 'protect' Yunus

Counterview Desk  A campaign has been launched to support Bangladesh-based economist, micro-finance guru and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, seeking signatures from citizens across the globe in order to “protect” his work, life and safety.

Electricity sharing opens up new window for India’s eastern neighbourhood engagement

By Sufian Asif* Today, challenges like climate change, pandemics, energy reliance, economic crisis, and many more are concerning us. No nation can overcome these obstacles without the assistance and collaboration of other nations. Most importantly, many of these problems have international repercussions. South Asia is facing much more difficulty when compared to other regions. In South Asia, we have some regional organizations, but they are ineffective.