PM won’t disavow Indian sabotage theory

Backs official who suggested plot to embarrass Trudeau

OTTAWA — Justin Trudeau is standing by a senior government official who suggested factions within the Indian government were involved in sabotaging the prime minister’s visit to India last week.

During his first question period since arriving back in Canada, opposition MPs grilled the prime minister Tuesday about invitations issued to Jaspal Atwal — a Surrey Sikh convicted of attempting to assassinate an Indian cabinet minister in 1986 — to attend two events with the prime minister in India.

In a background briefing arranged by the Prime Minister’s Office, a government official last week suggested that Atwal’s presence was arranged by factions within the Indian government that want to prevent Prime Minister Narendra Modi from getting too cosy with a government they believe is not committed to a united India.

Conservatives identified the official as Trudeau’s national security adviser, Daniel Jean, and they pressed Trudeau to say whether he agrees with Jean’s “conspiracy theory.”

“A senior security official made these allegations. Does the prime minister agree or disavow those allegations?” Opposition Leader Andrew Scheer asked.

Trudeau defended the official as a member of the professional, non-partisan public service that provides quality advice. He accused the previous Conservative government of using the public service for partisan ends, saying “they torqued the public service every possible way they could.”

“And they do not understand that our professional, nonpartisan public service does high-quality 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Trudeau’s office says Atwal’s invitation to a party in New Delhi was revoked as soon as his name was discovered on the guest list. However, Atwal showed up at a reception earlier in the week in Mumbai and was photographed with Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, the prime minister’s wife.

Surrey Centre MP Randeep Sarai, one of several Liberal MPs in India with Trudeau, took responsibility for inviting Atwal and acknowledged that it was a mistake.

Trudeau accepted Sarai’s resignation Tuesday as chairman of the Pacific caucus of Liberal MPs.

“I want to again apologize for my role in recent unfortunate events,” Sarai said in a tweet Tuesday afternoon. “Moving forward, I will be exercising better judgment.”