Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday hailed the decision of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over his resolve to seek public apology over the tragic incident of Kamagata Maru in the House of Commons on May 18.
Welcoming the decision of Trudeau on the eve of Baisakhi during “Khalsa Sajna” celebrations in Ottawa Assembly on Monday, Badal said it was indeed very heartening that the Canadian Government has decided to apologise on the floor of Parliament for the Komagata Maru episode by acknowledging the hurt caused to the community in 1914.
Badal said that SAD have been pushing for years to have this formal apology made in the Canadian Parliament and the Trudeau Government at last decided to seek such apology in this regard.
He said that earlier the Punjab Vidhan Sabha had also passed a resolution on May 26, 2015 seeking an apology from the Canadian Parliament for this tragedy in which 19 freedom fighters were killed by British forces on the shores of Kolkata in July 1914 after their ship was not allowed to anchor on the shores of Vancouver.
The Deputy Chief Minister also remembered Baba Gurdit Singh, one of the great Sikhs that lived ever, who had rented a Japanese ship named ‘Komagat Maru’ to rescue stranded Punjabis in Hong Kong and brought them to Canada. In chartering the Komagata Maru, Baba Gurdit Singh’s goal was to challenge the continuous journey regulation and open the door for immigration from British India to Canada during freedom struggle.