He should never have received invite: Trudeau on Khalistani terrorist

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau on inviting Khalistani terrorist Jaspal Atwal to a dinner with the Canadian Prime Minister, hosted by the Canadian High Commissioner in New Delhi.


"Obviously, we take this extremely seriously. He should never have received an invitation. As soon as we received the information we resciended it. A member of Parliament had included this individual," Trudeau said.


Canadian Member of Parliament Randeep S Sarai has taken responsibility for inviting Atwal to Trudeau's reception dinner in New Delhi, which is scheduled to take place later today.


"I alone facilitated his request to attend this important event. I should have exercised better judgment, and I take full responsibility for my actions," Sarai said in a statement, which Canadian journalist Abigail Bimman shared on Twitter.


Raveesh Kumar, the MEA spokesperson weighed on the matter saying, "There are two aspects to it -- presence & Visa. The Canadian side has already clarified that the invitation has been withdrawn. About the visa, I don't know how it happened. We will ascertain information from our Commission."


Jaspal Atwal, a convicted Khalistani terrorist, who was active in the banned International Sikh Youth Federation, was invited for a formal dinner with the Canadian Prime Minister, hosted by the Canadian High Commissioner in New Delhi.


He was convicted of the attempted murder of Punjab minister, Malkiat Singh Sidhu, on Vancouver Island in 1986 for which he was convicted with three others.


Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is on a visit to India, has been under immense pressure to answer concerns about Sikh separatism in Canada.