Justin Trudeau has cancelled a invite for a failed Sikh assassin and separatist he was supposed to dine with during his tour of India.
Jaspal Atwal, who tried to kill an Indian minister on Canadian soil in 1986, had been invited to an event hosted by the Canadian High Commissioner in Delhi on Thursday.
Trudeau said he was unaware of the invite, which had been extended by Liberal MP Randeep Sarai, and it was withdrawn as soon as it was brought to his attention.
‘Obviously, we take this situation extremely seriously,’ he told reporters in New Delhi.
Justin Trudeau has apologized after it emerged a Sikh separatist who once tried to assassinate an Indian minister on Canadian soil was invited to a dinner he was due to attend in India
Trudeau said he was not aware of the invite and canceled it as soon as it was brought to his attention. But it turns out the same separatist, Jaspal Atwal, was pictured with his wife Sophie (left) at another event on Tuesday
The invite was revealed ahead of a meeting between Trudeau and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Trudeau has been working hard to dispel the widespread perception in India that he is soft on extremists
‘The individual in question never should have received an invitation and as soon as we found out we rescinded the invitation immediately.’
It also comes after pictures emerged of Atwal standing next to Trudeau’s wife at a second event in Mumbai on Tuesday in pictures published by CBC.
The Canadian Prime Minister has been desperately trying to shake off the widespread perception in India that he is a soft touch towards Sikh separatists.
On Saturday Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not at the airport to meet Trudeau as he arrived to start his trip – widely viewed as a deliberate snub over this issue.
Modi has denied such allegations, while Trudeau has been at pains to state he supports a united India and rejects violence.
The invite was exposed just a day before Trudeau was due to meet Modi – the only high-level engagement of his eight-day trip.
It also came just a day after Trudeau visited the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the holiest site in Sikhism, while assuring Punjab’s chief minister that Canada did not sympathise with extremist movements.
Atwal was convicted for a botched assassination attempt on an Indian cabinet minister in Canada in 1986 and was sentenced to 20 years by a Canadian court.
He was a member of the International Sikh Youth Federation, an organisation outlawed in India and Canada, among other places, that seeks an independent Sikh state of Khalistan.
Justin Trudeau has come in for criticism for his outfit choices while visiting India, with even the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister weighing in
Bestselling author Bhaavna Arora was among the harshest critics, describing his wardrobe choices as ‘fake and annoying’
Bombay-based writer Shunali Khullar Shroff echoed the sentiments of many ordinary Indians when she suggested Trudeau looked dressed for a wedding
Kabir Taneja, a think-tank researcher, suggested Trudeau needs to ‘chill’ after he arrived at the airport in Amritsar in traditional Sikh dress
India’s foreign ministry said it was investigating how Atwal — a Canadian passport holder of Indian origin — managed to obtain a visa to travel to India.
Canada is home to roughly half a million Sikhs and Trudeau’s administration has been accused of being too cosy with those agitating for a separate homeland in India’s northern Punjab state.
Trudeau particularly riled New Delhi last year when he attended a parade in Canada at which Sikh militants were feted as heroes.
Tensions over the Khalistan issue have marred Trudeau’s visit, and fuelled speculation the prime minister was being snubbed by his Indian hosts.
But Modi late Thursday tweeted a welcome note for the visiting dignitary, posting a picture of him with Trudeau and his daughter Ella-Grace from a meeting in 2015.
‘I look forward to meeting PM Justin Trudeau tomorrow and holding talks on further strengthening India-Canada relations in all spheres,’ he said in a tweet ahead of Friday’s formal meeting between the two premiers.
It comes after Trudeau was ridiculed on social media by Indians for his ‘tacky’ and over the top outfit choices while visiting.
While India was initially receptive of Trudeau’s clothing, the tide seemed to turn on Tuesday night after he donned a gold jacket to meet Bollywood stars (left). Pictured right, he visits the Sikh Golden Temple in Amritsar on Wednesday
The Prime Minister kept his suit trousers and shoes on but did don a polo shirt as daughter Ella-Grace and son Xavier practiced cricket later in the day
Ministers, authors, journalists and ordinary Indians lined up to mock him, saying his wardrobe was ‘fake and annoying’.
Leading the criticism was Omar Abdullah, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, who tweeted on Wednesday saying Trudeau’s preening was ‘all just a bit much.’
‘We Indians do not dress like this every day sir, not even in Bollywood.’
Bhaavna Arora, a bestselling Indian author, also chimed in, accusing Trudeau of wearing ‘fancy dress’ and saying she found it ‘fake and annoying’.
Shekhar Gupta, founder of Indian newspaper ThePrint also mocked the Canadian Prime Minister, accusing him of ‘running a week-long ‘election campaign’ in India in fancy dress.’
Kabir Taneja, an associate fellow at think-tank ORF and based in South Delhi, also took issue with Trudeau wearing traditional Sikh dress at the airport.
‘Bro Golden Temple is not at the airport,’ he wrote. ‘Have some chill.’
While Indian newspapers had initially praised Trudeau’s attempt to cross cultural boundaries with his outfits – describing the red kurta he wore on the first day of his visit as ‘resplendent’ and ‘festive’ – by Wednesday they lost patience as well.
‘Too flashy even for an Indian’, proclaimed Outlook India while The Print suggested that he looked like he was auditioning to be a model.
The tipping point seemed to have come the day before when Trudeau met the great and good of Bollywood, whose own looks arguably inspired some of his own.
Many observers suggested that it seemed Trudeau was attending a wedding from the way he was dressed (pictured here at one of Ghandi’s former homes on Monday)
Others compared him to famous Indian magician PC Sarkar, mocking him for looking over-dressed, even in front of Bollywood stars
While Indians tolerated Trudeau’s outfit choices for the first two days of his visit, by Wednesday their patience seemed to have run out
But while the actors dressed down for the occasion, opting largely for black suits and shirts, Trudeau went all-out with a gaudy golden number.
India Today described the choice of clothing as ‘tacky’, suggesting it was insulting to his guests.
The paper wrote: ‘We understand that the Trudeaus do not understand Indian clothing as well as Indian dignitaries do, but for someone who’s been fond of wearing Indian kurtas even back home, it’s not wrong to expect a touch of class.’
It is not only Trudeau’s dress sense that has seen him come under fire on his India tour – he has also been snubbed by Indian politicians because of his past support for Sikh separatist groups.
When he arrived in New Dehli on Saturday, instead of being greeted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi he was instead welcomed by a junior agriculture minister.
While Modi’s office insisted there was no subtext to the move, the leader is usually on hand to greet world leader with a hug at the airport.
Trudeau’s trip has also been criticised back home for his lack of official engagements – just one in eight days – making it more like a family holiday than a diplomatic visit.