Whatever be Canada's stand, won't meet Sajjan: Amarinder

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh today said he is "not bothered" about what Canada thinks about his stand on its minister Harjit Sajjan and asserted that he will not associate himself with "Khalistani sympathisers"
"I am not bothered about what Sajjan or others in the Canadian government think about my stand. I am concerned only about the detrimental impact of these Khalistani sympathisers on this country, particularly on Punjab," he said.
Canada has termed as "disappointing and inaccurate" the comments by Amarinder that five ministers in the Justin Trudeau government, including Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, were "Khalistani sympathisers".
Yesterday, during a programme of a private TV channel, the Chief Minister had alleged, "Harjit Sajjan is a Khalistani sympathiser and so was his father. There are, in fact, five ministers in the Justin Trudeau government who were Khalistani sympathisers and I will not have any truck with them."

Reiterating his stand on the issue, Amarinder said while, as a democratic nation, India believes in freedom of speech, which was enshrined in the Constitution, he would personally not meet any "Khalistani sympathiser".
The Chief Minister said while Sajjan is welcome to attend conferences and meets and even to visit Darbar Sahib, he would personally not entertain the Canadian minister as he has "concrete information about him being a Khalistani sympathiser, just as his father Kundan Sajjan".

"The state government would provide full security to the minister and ensure that he gets due treatment as per protocol but I will not be seen hobnobbing with a Khalistani sympathiser," Amarinder said.

He also lashed out at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Dal Khalsa for their criticism of his refusal to meet the Canadian defence minister during the latter's expected visit to India later this month and accused them of playing into the hands of forces inimical to India.
Asserting that as many as 35,000 innocent lives were lost during those days of violence, Amarinder alleged, "People like Sajjan had not only run away from the turmoil to settle abroad but were encouraging such extremist elements by supporting their philosophy."
Accusing the Dal Khalsa of 'playing to the gallery' on the matter, Amarinder said that he "never believed in public posturing for the sake of political propriety or necessity but had stood by principles."

"From breaking away from the Congress in the wake of Operation Bluestar to resigning from the Lok Sabha over the SYL issue, I have always upheld the values that protected the interests of Punjab and its people," he said.
The Chief Minister also flayed the AAP's attack on him for his stand terming their reaction as "expected and in line with" the party's national convener Arvind Kejriwal's "proven softness for the Khalistani forces".
"Kejriwal had shown his extremist leanings by staying at a former Khalistan Commando Force (KCF) militant's house during one of his visits to Punjab as part of his election campaign," Amarinder claimed, adding in this circumstance, AAP's strong reaction "is quite natural".