CHANDIGARH, April 21: On the request of the Foreign Ministry of Canada, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) President and Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Capt. Amarinder Singh, has cancelled his plans to hold political rallies in Toronto and Vancouver. However, he would be meeting and interacting with the Punjabi diaspora during his six days visit to Canada that begins inSaturday April 23.
Capt. Amarinder Singh was informed by Indian Foreign Secretary, Dr S Jaishanker, on phone that the Canadian rules, under Global Affairs Policy, prevent foreign governments and individuals from conducting election campaigns in Canada. He said since his political conference could have violated the rules of the host country, he had decided to cancel them.
Capt Amarinder Singh said though his earlier scheduled large interactions with the people had been organised to actually assess the aspirations of non-resident Punjabis, he could not have avoided making political statements at such event, particularly when people would have asked him about his plans for Punjab.
“Since the host country does not allow such events, I thought it was better to cancel them”, he said, while adding, “I would however look forward to meeting my fellow Punjabis in their homes and small groups to ensure the compliance of the host country’s laws”.