Sajjan plays up Sikh roots, looks forward to India visit
CHANDIGARH: Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh and Canadian defence minister Lt Col Harjit Sajjan are both soldiers-turned-politicians locked in a battle of perception. Sajjan is yet to join issue with Amarinder but he tweeted twice on April 14 on Baisakhi, playing up his Sikh roots. In the first tweet, he greets followers: “Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh! The equality we celebrate on #Vaisakhi is a value shared by all Cdns. Bons souhaits Vaisakhi!”
HOSHIARPUR: Canadian defence minister Harjit Sajjan’s native village of Bambeli in Hoshiarpur district is gearing up to welcome its son of the soil amid the controversy triggered by Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh’s refusal to meet him over his being a “Khalistani sympathiser”. Sajjan is expected to arrive here for the first time after becoming defence minister but his father, Kundan Singh, refuses to confirm the visit.
The octogenarian, who has been an active member of radical groups World Sikh Organisation, is avoiding the media after Amarinder’s remarks on Sajjan’s perceived ideological affiliations. “I am busy, I cannot talk to you,” Kundan Singh said when contacted over the phone. The father-son duo has been at the receiving end of accusations of being Khalistan backers by Amarinder and Punjabi-Sikh liberals in Canada.
On prodding, he clarified that he did not want to respond to Amarinder’s statement. “I will not say anything on the issue. He (Amarinder) knows better what he has said, I will not comment on it,” he said.
He was non-committal on his son’s proposed visit to the village. “He is coming to Amritsar but I am not sure if he will come here,” he said when asked about Sajjan’s itinerary.