Jagmeet backs self determination in Punjab
TORONTO: As Jagmeet Singh, the newly elected leader of the Canada’s New Democratic Party (NDP), is busy with a countrywide introductory tour, he has made it clear he considers selfdetermination to be a “basic right” in places such as Punjab, Catalonia or Quebec.
Singh was quoted by Huffington Post as saying during a news conference in Ottawa last week: “So whether it is in Punjab, for the people of Punjab, or whether it is in Catalonia, for the people of that region, whether it is in Basque, wherever t hat is, whether it is in Quebec, it’s a basic right. Everyone should be able to do that.”
The 38-year-old politician has already been criticised for his support for the legal right of the province of Quebec to break away from Canada.
Huffington Post also quoted him as saying on the issue of selfdetermination, “It is a right that is so fundamental and if people choose their future, I am completely in agreement with their decision. I, personally, would love us to stay together, but at the same time I respect the decision without fault.”
But in equating self-determi- nation and the issue of recent separatist movements to the demand for a separate Sikh homeland, Singh is echoing the strategy adopted by hardline groups such as Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), which is spearheading the so-called “Khalistan 2020 Referendum” effort.
This may be a coincidence, and SFJ’S legal advisor Gurpatwant Pannun said that while he had communicated with Singh in 2010-11, there had been “no contact” since then.
Pannun is in Italy currently in Italy, where two regions are seeking partial autonomy. Speaking to Hindustan Times from Milan, Pannun said, “I wouldn’t comment on what he (Jagmeet Singh) says because he is a political person and we are running a campaign for the independence of Punjab.”