A day after cancelling all his rallies, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Capt Amarinder on Friday lodged a strong protest with the Canadian government over its denial of permission for his interactive meetings with the Punjabis in the cities of Toronto and Vancouver.
“It feels like a gag order that has left a very bad taste, more so when issued by a democratic Government like the Canadian,” he said.
Capt Amarinder, in a strongly worded letter to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said that he was disappointed over the “gag order” that has left a bad taste. Quoting Canadian constitution to argue his point, he questioned the premise on which the permission had been denied to him.
Besides, he added, other leaders from India like Prime Minister Narendra Modi and opposition leaders from Punjab were very much allowed to hold similar interactions while he was being denied the same.
Following a complaint by an America based anti-India group under the provisions of Global Affairs of Canada (GAC), the Canadian government asked Capt Amarinder not to attend the programmes hosted by the Canadian citizens of Indian origin.
The GAC policy which has been invoked to deny him permission mentions that the Canadian government “will not allow foreign governments to conduct election campaigns in Canada or establish foreign political parties and movements in Canada”.
Capt Amarinder clarified that he neither represented any government at the moment, nor was he organising any election campaign since there are no elections scheduled in Punjab right now or in immediate future.
Besides, he added, he had no intention or purpose to establish any political party or movement in Canada.
The former Chief Minister added, moreover, he had not organised any of the programmes himself as these had been organised by the local Canadian citizens, who were entitled to various “fundamental freedoms” in accordance with the Canadian constitution. He pointed out that he was there to be as their guest only.
He said, he had “planned to visit Canada to interact with my fellow Punjabis at personal level to learn about their experiences and seek their opinions”. They, being the citizens of Canada, do not have any voting rights in India, he pointed out, while adding, hence, there was no point in carrying out election campaign amongst them and that too when there were no elections scheduled in Punjab right now or in immediate future.
Asserting that his government’s “gag order” undermined the “Fundamental Freedoms” guaranteed in the Canadian constitution, he said that it was not only he who had been denied these freedoms.