Just a day after Indian news agency reported that Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh would meet Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau when he visits the state, Canadian media outlet CBC News reported that Prime Minister Trudeau will not meet with “Indian leader behind Sikh separatist controversy.”
"We have nothing planned with him (Amarinder Singh) at this time," a Canadian official told CBC News.
The development comes after Amarinder called Canadian defence minister Harjit Singh Sajjan as a 'Khalistani sympathiser', during the latter's visit to India in April last year.
The Punjab Chief Minister had made the comment on Sajjan since he felt that the Canadian Defence Minister was allegedly advocating for the formation of Khalistan.
However, Canada has repeatedly stated that it did not support any type of Sikh extremism.
"Trudeau has to find a way to nip this all in the bud", said Shuvaloy Majumdar, a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute for Public Policy and former policy adviser to ex-foreign affairs minister of Canada John Baird.
"It is absolutely essential the government of Canada repudiate terror in all its forms. The vast majority of Canadian Sikhs are not involved in or supportive of the Khalistan movement, particularly the extremist end of it, he added. But Trudeau's tendency to appear at events where Khalistani leaders are also featured, whether intentional or otherwise, has not gone unnoticed, he warned.
The Canadian Government wants the trip to be about far more than the Sikh independence ties. With 1.3 million Indians living in Canada, the community is fast growing and influential both politically and economically in the country.
A Canadian Government delegation paid a visit to the Golden Temple in Amritsar on Thursday, ahead of Trudeau's visit to India. The Canadian Prime Minister will visit the Golden Temple on February 21.
Trudeau will travel to India for a state visit from February 17 to 23.
The visit - which includes stopovers in Agra, Amritsar, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, and New Delhi - will provide an opportunity for Trudeau to connect with the Indian leaders in government and business, promote empowerment of women and girls, and strengthen Canada and India's close economic ties.
The prime ministers of India and Canada will reaffirm the close friendship between the two countries, and discuss ways to further deepen bilateral cooperation.
Trudeau will also participate in several business roundtables to promote further trade and investment between Canada and India, where Canada will work closely with Indian leaders to advance economic opportunities in both countries.
