Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest? PM Trudeau’s Office, Says Committee, On Invite To Khalistani During India Visit

A committee of Canadian Parliamentarians, in its report, has blamed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office for his India trip fiasco involving Sikh separatist Jaspal Atwal, The New Indian Express has reported.

The report by National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians said that the Prime Minister’s Office was responsible for extending an invitation to Atwal to two of Trudeau’s events during his trip to India in February. The presence of a Sikh separatist in Canadian Prime Minister’s event had embarrassed Trudeau.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) was also criticised in the report, which was tabled in the Canadian parliament on Monday (3 November), for their failure to notify police and other agencies about Atwal’s criminal record.

“The RCMP had information that Atwal had a serious criminal record and a history of involvement in violent acts, issues which should have been identified as security risks to the Prime Minister and his delegation.” stated the report.

“The RCMP recognises that it erred in not providing that information to the Prime Minister’s Protective Detail,” the report added.

Atwal was invited by the Canadian authorities to an event in Mumbai where he was photographed with Prime Minister Trudeau’s wife. An uproar over a Sikh separatist’s presence in the event forced the Canadian High Commission to cancel Atwal’s invite to the second event in Delhi.