‘High commission pursuing matter with Canada’

CHANDIGARH:EXTERNAL affairs minister Sushma Swaraj has said the Indian high commission in Ottawa has taken up with the Canadian government the issue of denial of entry to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAS Kultar Singh Sandhwan and Amarjit Singh Sandoa in the country, responding to a letter the Punjab Vidhan Sabha speaker, Rana KP Singh, wrote to her last month.

The two MLAS were put on a flight back to India from Ottawa’s Macdonald-cartier airport soon after they landed there on an Air Canada flight on July 21 this year.

In her response, Swaraj said the high commission has sought details of the circumstances and reasons for “this deplorable action” by the Canadian immigration authorities.

“We take all matters pertaining to members of our legislative bodies very seriously. In fact, the moment I was apprised of the treatment meted out to the two AAP MLAS by the Canadian authorities, my office immediately contacted the high commissioner in Ottawa to ascertain the facts,” she said, assuring the speaker about following the matter scrupulously.

Sandhwan, grandnephew of former President Zail Singh, said he was visiting his sister Harpreet Gahla, who has been living in Canada for 13 years and Sandoa was accompanying him.

They, however, had denied reports about their detention and deportation, saying the problem occurred due to a communication gap with regard to the purpose of their visit.

‘REQUISITE POLITICAL CLEARANCE NOT TAKEN’

Swaraj said Indian diplomats in Canada were unaware of the visit of these two legislators since neither her ministry was informed of the visit nor requisite political clearance was sought.

SPEAKER TELLS MLAS TO FOLLOW PROCEDURE

The speaker has also advised all the MLAS to follow the prescribed procedure for their foreign visits, including obtaining political clearance from MEA and providing prior information to Indian missions abroad, even if they are on a private visit.

WORKERS’ UNION SAYS WILL OBSERVE STRIKE

Meanwhile, Haryana Roadways Sarvkarmchari Sangh president Dalbir Singh said it was shocking as it showed the government was bent on suppressing employees’ voice by invoking ESMA.

Haryana Roadways workers had given the strike call to protest against the government’s move to allow private buses to run within and from the state.

“We are ready to make any sacrifice to save the department from going into hands of private operators and will observe the strike on September 5,” he said.

Dalbir also alleged favouritism to a chosen few as contrary to government’s previous stance which stated that societies will be roped in to run buses. “It is now said that some operators with 100 or more buses are being roped in,” he added.

The ACS, however, refuted the allegations by saying that it was neither favouritism nor a bid to privatise the services. “The entire process has rather been done in a transparent manner where the bus and its driver will be of the operator and its conductor will be deputed by the department.

The revenue will come to government,

which would give ₹32 to ₹36 per km to the operator,” he added.

The union leaders have also demanded purchase of new buses and filling of all vacancies

in the department which, they held, will bring “huge profits”.

At least 12 lakh people travel daily in around 4,000 buses of Haryana Roadways.