Trudeau backs allegations that Indian government orchestrated presence of a man convicted of shooting Punjab minister at a formal dinner during India trip.
New Delhi: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has backed a claim by a senior official Tuesday that elements within the Indian government had tried to sabotage his visit to India earlier this month by inviting a man convicted of shooting a Punjab minister to a formal dinner.
A senior Canadian government official had claimed the Indian government choreographed the Trudeau delegation’s blunder to invite Jaspal Atwal, a man convicted of attempt to murder, to a formal dinner. The official, identified by the opposition as National Security Advisor Daniel Jean, had reportedly claimed this was done so that Trudeau would appear to be sympathetic to the Khalistani cause.
(Also read: Jaspal Singh Atwal, a ‘terrorist’ who isn’t actually on the radar of anti-terror agencies in India)
In his first question hour in the House of Commons after he returned to Canada, Trudeau was grilled by members of the Opposition about the incident, and he backed the claim made by the National Security Advisor.
The leader of the Opposition, Conservative MP Andrew Scheer, who tweeted a video of the exchange, said “Normally, the worst a Prime Minister could do on a foreign trip would be to accomplish nothing, but the Prime Minister has taken things to a new level. He’s left our relations with India worse off than before he left.”
#QP: Justin Trudeau is failing Canadians on the world stage. A convicted attempted murderer was invited to dine with Trudeau, and his office allowed a security official to make a serious accusation against the Government of India. Does he have any proof? https://t.co/esJhQIIUx4
— Andrew Scheer (@AndrewScheer) February 27, 2018
Replying to Scheer’s question if he agreed with the allegations that India was “complicit” in the “Jaspal Atwal affair”, Trudeau initially replied that the Opposition did not recognise the importance of the Canada-India relationship.
Reading from a document, Trudeau went on to talk about the economic ties between the two countries, saying that India contributes a lot to the Canadian economy.
Scheer repeated his question, and asked, “Does the Prime Minister agree or disavow those allegations?” Still reading from a document, Trudeau replied that his government, the Liberal party, respects the non-partisan nature of public service, and especially those who serve in Canada’s security agencies.
“We trust and listen to the advice and actions that they take, and that they will be in the national interest, and that they will be impartial,” he said.
Scheer then asked if the Prime Minister could confirm that anyone “arranged, organised, or participated in the media briefing provided to reporters, that included the allegation that the government of India was somehow involved in his embarrassing blunder in India.”
Trudeau replied that that his team performs “high quality, non-partisan public work”.
“And when one of our top diplomats and security officials says something to Canadians, it’s because they know it to be true,” Trudeau added.
BREAKING: Trudeau doubles down on conspiracy that "rogue" agents in the India orchestrated the Atwal scandal to embarrass him.
"When one of our top [officials] says something to Canadians, it's because they know it to be true" – Justin Trudeau, Question Period, February 27, 2018 https://t.co/nm0lK17ZGT
— Candice Malcolm (@CandiceMalcolm) February 27, 2018
The Toronoto Star reported that it was left to another MP to field further questions about Jaspal Atwal.
“Before our prime minister destroys our relationship with our ally, the government and country of India, will he please tell this House what proof he has of that allegation?”Candice Bergen, a Conservative MP, said.
Ralph Goodale, a member of Trudeau’s cabinet, responded to this by saying that her “insinuations and her accusations are false.”
Atwal was photographed at the formal dinner with the Prime Minister’s wife, and a Canadian Member of Parliament who was travelling with Trudeau had admitted to inviting the Khalistani separatist.
“He (Atwal) should never have received an invitation. As soon as we received the info we rescinded it, a member of Parliament had included this individual,” Trudeau said at the time.