LIBERALS TURF MP IN PARTY IN-FIGHT
Out of caucus after calling Bains extremist
Liberal MP Ramesh Sangha has been thrown out of the Liberal caucus after suggesting that former Industry minister Navdeep Bains was an “extremist” supporter of Sikh separatism and should never have gotten into cabinet.
Chief government whip Mark Holland announced Monday afternoon that Sangha had been removed in the wake of his latest barrage against the party and government he represents.
The Brampton Centre MP'S remarks came days after Bains unexpectedly announced he was stepping down from cabinet, citing personal reasons that included a desire to spend more time with his family.
In a somewhat rambling interview with Y Media, a Punjabi-language news outlet, Sangha said he was “shocked” to hear that the minister was quitting at a relatively young age, and that the reason Bains offered for his decision “was difficult to digest for me.”
Sangha also said that he had felt pressure from the former minister and the minister's father. Now that Bains was gone, “I am not a bounded Liberal any more,” he said. Then the MP appeared to comment on Bains' views about the Sikh question.
“If someone says that `I am extremist, I am Khalistani,' and says it in a declaring style … is he fit to be a minister?" asked the backbencher. “I already said that he is not.”
Khalistanis are supporters of an independent Sikh homeland in India, but there is no evidence that Bains has declared that he was one or that he was an extremist.
He and other Sikh members of cabinet, faced with such allegations in the past, have denied being part of the movement.
The difference this time is the charge came not only from within the party, but from one of Bains' fellow MPS from Brampton, whose ridings are home to large Sikh populations.
The episode also revived an issue that has repeatedly bedevilled the Liberal government, sometimes souring relations with India.
The cause of Sikh separatism — a predominately peaceful movement today despite an outburst of terrorism three decades ago — has divided the Indian-canadian community, too.
As soon as the whip learned of the comments, he consulted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and “the necessary steps were taken,” said spokesman Charles-eric Lépine.
“As we have made clear time and time again, we will not tolerate conspiracy theories, or dangerous and unfounded rhetoric about parliamentarians or other Canadians,” said Lépine in a statement. “Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for many Canadians to experience suspicions because of their background; we all know where this can lead.
“The Liberal Caucus continues to stand firm against racism and intolerance.”
Yet the accusation of racism was levelled against a politician of Sikh background himself, making the situation all the more unusual.
Sangha said in an interview Monday the move by the party came out of the blue, and that he never had a chance to offer his perspective.
“They have not given me any opportunity of being heard,” he said. “They are misunderstanding me. It was just misinterpreted … This type of justice is a harsh response.”
Asked if he had evidence
THEY HAVE NOT GIVEN ME ANY OPPORTUNITY OF BEING HEARD.
Bains is a Khalistani, he didn't directly respond. The MP said he is against all forms of extremism, but that he does not have anything personally against the former minister.
He said he thought that as a Liberal MP he was free to express his views.
In the Y Media interview, the journalist also asked about Sangha's basis for claiming Bains was a Khalistani extremist. The MP cited discussions of a controversial Public Safety Canada report on terrorism in 2019, which referred to the continued existence of “Sikh extremism.” The Sikh community was outraged at the statement, which many felt maligned the entire religion.
In discussing changes to the report, Bains went further and said it also should not refer to Khalistani extremism, said Sangha. That seemed to betray the then-minister's own views, he argued.
He also suggested that Bains' father had chastised him for meeting with Capt. Amarinder Singh, the chief minister of Punjab province. Singh is one of Indian politics' harshest and most inflammatory critics of the Liberal government, having accused Sikh-canadian cabinet ministers of Khalistani sympathies.
Sangha first spoke out publicly against his own party in 2019, when he suggested in another Punjabi-language interview that the Liberal government was “pandering” to Khalistanis, and hurting relations with India in the process.
“One thing is for sure, when we raise this issue, it will raise an anti-india slogan or demand the division of India on some ground,” he said on 5AAB, a Mississauga, Ont.-based channel. “In that, ultimately our relations, the Canada-india relationship will certainly develop cracks.”
He said at that time that Trudeau stood for a united India, but seemed to question whether other members of the caucus felt the same way.
“Sikh ministers, MPS of our Sikh brotherhood, these brothers of mine, they have their own … These are their own views and as long as they demand it, it is viewed that they are separatists. When this view surfaces, India also voices its hard view.”