Congress leader Capt. Amarinder Singh, on a campaign trail abroad to win the support of Non-Resident Indians ahead of the Punjab Assembly polls next year, will not be able to hold rallies in Canada after objections were raised by a rights advocacy group.
Sikhs for Justice lodged a complaint with Canada’s Foreign Ministry, saying Capt. Amarinder’s visit would violate a circular issued by the Ministry in 2011 disallowing foreign governments or individuals or political parties from conducting election campaigns. Capt. Amarinder, who will visit Canada on April 23, said in a statement that after a request from the Foreign Ministry, he had cancelled his rallies in Toronto and Vancouver.
However, he will interact with the Punjabi diaspora there during his six-day visit. Indian Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar also informed him about the Canadian rules under its Global Affairs Policy.
The Congress leader has lodged a protest against the denial of permission for his public interactions in Toronto and Vancouver.
In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, he wrote: “It feels like a gag order and has left a very bad taste, more so when issued by a democratic government like the Canadian.”
“I have no intentions of carrying out any election campaign here, as there are no elections right now in Punjab. Nor do I have any plan to set up any political party or movement in Canada,” the letter said.
He had planned to visit Canada to interact with fellow Punjabis at the personal level to learn about their experiences and seek their opinions.
Capt. Amarinder Singh is on a 20-day visit to the United States and Canada from April 19 to mobilise the support of Punjabi NRIs for the Assembly polls, due early next year.
