Trudeau won’t meet with Sikh separatist

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will not meet with the Indian politician who has publicly accused members of Trudeau’s cabinet of being connected to the Sikh separatist movement.

Despite Indian media reports that Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh is to be Trudeau’s tour guide at the Golden Temple in Amritsar during a state visit to India that begins Sunday, officials in the Prime Minister’s Office say no meeting is planned.

“We have nothing planned with him at this time,’’ said one Canadian official, speaking anonymously because they weren’t authorized to discuss details of the trip publicly.

The Hindustan Times, the largest English daily newspaper in India, reported Singh was to accompany Trudeau to the temple and a nearby museum.

Last year, Singh refused to meet with Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, accusing him of supporting the pro-khalistani movement, which advocates for an independent Sikh state. Earlier this month, Singh told Outlook India magazine that “there seems to be evidence that there are Khalistani sympathizers in Trudeau’s cabinet.’’

Sajjan and Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi, two of the four Sikh members of Trudeau’s cabinet, pushed back hard against Singh’s claim, denying that they were either part of the movement or that it was much of an issue at all in Canada’s Indian communities.