The Indian government is dismissing as “baseless and unacceptable” any speculation that it played a role in arranging the visit to India of a convicted Canadian would-be assassin as part of an alleged plot to embarrass Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and make him appear soft on Sikh extremism.
The matter came to the fore last Tuesday when it was discovered that Jaspal Atwal, who was convicted of attempted murder of a visiting Indian politician in British Columbia in 1986, wound up being invited to two events organized by the Canadian side during Trudeau’s trip to India.
A former member of the banned terrorist group, the International Sikh Youth Federation, Atwal was also charged, but not convicted, in connection with a 1985 attack on Ujjal Dosanjh, a staunch opponent of the Sikh separatist movement, who later became premier of British Columbia and a federal Liberal cabinet minister.
Sophie Grégoire Trudeau and Jaspal Atwal pictured at what appears to be a film industry influencers event with Indian film stars in Mumbai on Feb. 20. (Submitted)
While Atwal’s invitation came through B.C. Liberal MP Randeep Sarai, who took the blame for putting him on the guest list for two dinners organized by the Canadian High Commission in India, questions were raised immediately about how a person with Atwal’s criminal past was able to get an Indian visa in the first place.
In a background briefing arranged by the Prime Minister’s Office last week, a senior national security official suggested to reporters that Atwal’s visit to India was arranged by factions within the Indian government to make the Canadian government appear sympathetic to Sikh extremists and “complacent on terrorism.”
Grilled by the opposition in the House of Commons over the scandal that nearly derailed his visit to India, Trudeau said Tuesday he stands by the official’s assessment.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stands during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2018. (Sean Kilpatrick/THE CANADIAN PRESS)
“When one of our top diplomats and security officials says something to Canadians, it’s because they know it to be true,” Trudeau said, responding to a question from Official Opposition Leader Conservative MP Andrew Scheer.
The exchange in the House of Commons drew a sharp rebuke from New Delhi.
“Let me categorically state that the Government of India, including the security agencies, had nothing to do with the presence of Jaspal Atwal at the event hosted by the Canadian High Commissioner in Mumbai or the invitation issued to him for the Canadian High Commissioner’s reception in New Delhi,” said in a statement Raveesh Kumar, an official spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs.
“Any suggestion to the contrary is baseless and unacceptable.”
The Indian government, however, has yet to explain how Atwal, who until recently was inadmissible to visit India, was granted a visa.
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