Capt Amarinder's 'Khalistani' comment against Canada minister back in focus during renewed bilateral tensions

In 2017, Captain Amarinder had single handedly stirred major upheaval in India-Canada relations after refusing to meet Canada Minister of Defence Harjit Sajjan upon his Punjab visit, calling him 'Khalistani Sympathiser.'

Canada’s allegations against Indian Intelligence agencies over their involvement in the murder of Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar have resulted in a major fallout between the two nations. Over five years ago, ex Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh had submitted a list of nine Khalistani operatives in Canada to PM Trudeau that also had Nijjar’s mention, and now, his murder has stirred up bilateral tensions in India-Canada relations.

Nations across globe including US have called for fair investigation and urged India’s cooperation into the matter. This diplomatic fallout with Canada is not something new, as India-Canada bilateral ties have been marked with storms over the Khalistan issue at various points in past. One of the most prominent set of events is that of Captain Amarinder Singh’s outright denial to meet Canada Foreign Minister Harjit Sajjan six years ago in 2017. The latter was on an India visit and went to his native village of Bambeli in Hosiapur district.

Captain Amarinder had communicated his unavailability to meet with Canada Minister of Defence and said in an interview to NDTV that Sajjan and other Sikh Ministers in Trudeau’s cabinet were ‘Khalistani sympathizers.’ 

​​“It’s a matter of principle,” Captain  Amarinder Singh had said, referring to a principle of “zero tolerance” for terrorism. “There are [four] ministers there who are Khalistanis. And I am not interested in meeting Khalistanis.”

The Canadian High Commission had termed Captain’s comments as both ‘disappointing’ and ‘inaccurate.’

Singh, in his statement, was referring to allegations against Sajjan, whose father was a board member of the radical World Sikh Organization in Canada. 

Hardeep Singh Nijjar was reportedly shot dead in Canada on June 19. The incident took place in Surrey. Nijjar's killing came almost a week after the death of Avtar Singh Khanda, the face of violent protests at the Indian High Commission in London.

Nijjar, who was actively involved with the Sikhs for Justice movement, was designated as an ‘individual terrorist’ under UAPA for training and financing Khalistan Tiger Force ( KTF) module members. He had a Red Corner notice against his name, slapped by Interpol in 2016 and a Rs 10 lakh reward was announced in 2020 by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for information leading to him.