CANADIAN PM TRUDEAU SKIPS ANNUAL KHALSA DAY PARADE IN TORONTO
TORONTO:JUSTIN Trudeau skipped the annual Khalsa Day Parade in Toronto on Sunday, a year after he riled the Indian government by becoming the first Canadian Prime Minister in a decade to appear at the event, which is marked by a profusion of Khalistan flags and separatist banners and posters featuring those like Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.
However, even if Trudeau stayed away, the focus that emerged from his troubled visit to India in February, on how Canada is serving as a base for revival of the Khalistan movement, did not prevent a galaxy of the country’s leading politicians from appearing at the nagar kirtan, just as they had done in the Surrey Vaisakhi celebration in British Columbia last week.
Among them was New Democratic Party (NDP) national leader Jagmeet Singh, who was present at both events.
In Toronto, he took the opportunity for some India bashing while speaking, alleging that human rights violations in India were similar to those in Syria and those against the Rohingya in Myanmar. Singh has faced criticism over associating with separatist events in recent times and his presence at the Surrey event was never announced, nor did he mark it on social media. But he was at the forefront in Toronto.
As Khalistan flags fluttered and several people held up banners for a 2020 referendum for a separate Sikh homeland, Ontario’s premier Kathleen Wynne also addressed the gathering. The Khalsa Day Parade had posters featuring Bhindranwale, considered the founder of the Khalistan movement, and floats in memory of the assassins of former PM Indira Gandhi.
In Surrey last week, Wynne’s counterpart in British Columbia, John Horgan, had made an appearance, even as the Vaisakhi celebration featured floats for the 2020 referendum and honoured “martyrs” such as Bhindranwale. Trudeau’s government was also well represented in the Khalsa Day Parade, with cabinet minister Navdeep Bains speaking from the stage. Trudeau was scheduled to be in Toronto later in the evening to attend a #Torontostrong vigil for those run over by a van during a rampage on April 23. He chose to bypass Nathan Phillips Square, the venue for the nagar kirtan.