Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh has postponed his Canada visit after a complaint was filed against him in a Canadian court over alleged atrocities committed during his tenure as chief minister.
"I regret postponing my visit to Canada but this has been done to avoid any ugly confrontation or untoward situation," he said in an appeal to Canadian NRIs, adding that "I will fight this case legally to the finish and come to you once it is sorted out through due legal process."
74-year-old Amarinder, who is on a three-week tour of the United States and Canada, said after advice from his Canada-based lawyers in the wake of a complaint lodged by Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) against him in a court there, he has decided to reschedule his visit. Fresh dates would be worked out later.
SFJ yesterday filed a complaint in a Toronto court demanding his arrest over alleged atrocities committed during his tenure as chief minister.
Quoting his lawyers, Amarinder said, "the complaint is totally in violation of the Canadian laws and its constitution and it will be rejected by the court".
He said, he will not be deterred by such complaints by the known "India baiters who are doing the bidding of anti-India forces like the ISI".
The former Chief Minister said, his lawyers have told him that the SFJ complaint will take about three weeks to be decided.
"This it is absolutely a fake and frivolous complaint which will not stand the scrutiny of law," he claimed adding that "the moment it will be decided I will attend all the functions that were scheduled earlier".
Amarinder, who came here on April 19 and addressed NRI gatherings here, was to fly to Toronto yesterday but had to cancel his flight and was forced to wait for the court decision.
Sources said the petition moved by "Sikhs for Justice" is demanding restraining orders on him.
Amarinder was Punjab's chief minister from 2002-07.
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Meanwhile, at Sunam in Sangrur district,Amarinder charged Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal with trying to get rid of AAP's state convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur to pave the way for his own entry into Punjab.
Chhotepur has an unblemished record of over 40 years in public life, he said.
Amarinder sought deployment of adequate central security forces during the 2017 assembly elections. It is important as Punjab was "faced with a serious law and order problem with about sixty criminal gangs active in the state". Besides, two terror attacks in the state last year make it all the more necessary, he added.
He said, the Congress can face elections anytime. It was far ahead of the Akali-BJP alliance and the AAP.
"We don't see any competition leave aside a challenge from anyone", he said, while claiming the Akali-BJP alliance was already on the way out and AAP had started disintegrating.
