Jagmeet Singh, the man who pulls Trudeau's strings on the Khalistan issue Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com

 

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's brazen patronage of violent Khalistani elements in Canada is in keeping with the Canadian governments in the past protecting individuals indulging in anti-India activities. What has made it worse is Trudeau's competitive wooing of Khalistanis after a rival claimant for Khalistani votes emerged — Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) since 2017.

Trudeau and Jagmeet turned partners of sorts from rivals when after the 2021 election Trudeau's Liberal Party was able to form government with the support of Jagmeet's NDP. Now, Trudeau's government is entirely dependent on Jagmeet's support to survive.

A vocal supporter of Khalistani politics who has association with violent Khalistani leaders, Jagmeet pulls Trudeau's strings. Before NDP propped up his government, Trudeau indulged in a competitive patronising of Khalistanis since Jagmeet's sudden rise threatened Trudeau's hold on Khalistani votes. Now with his government dependent on the NDP support, Trudeau has to acquiesce to Jagmeet's virulent anti-India agenda. If you add to his acquiescing to Jagmeet his efforts to consolidate his own Khalistani votes, you have a prime minister who will jeopardise Canada's relations with India just for a few votes. But a few votes matter. Expecting thin victory margins, politicians woo small but consolidated voting blocs.

Jagmeet's rise in Canadian politics

In 2017, Jagmeet, a 38-year-old Sikh lawyer and an MLA for several years, was elected the leader of NDP, becoming the first non-white politician to head a major political party in the country. The NDP is the third-biggest party in Canada. He was elected as the NDP head to lead the party into the 2019 election against Trudeau's Liberal Party. This meant he was the prime-ministerial candidate of the party, a big achievement for the Indian diaspora in Canada. Media in India celebrated his success. He said he would focus on issues of climate change, reconciliation with indigenous peoples, and electoral reform.

Later, his win as the NDP head, with 53.6 per cent of the vote, was alleged to be rigged. It was claimed that he enrolled thousands of new members from his community solely to pad up his votes during the party election.

Born in 1979 in Scarborough, Ontario, to immigrant parents from Punjab, Singh grew up in St John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Windsor, Ontario. He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the University of Western Ontario in 2001 and a Bachelor of Laws degree from York University's Osgoode Hall Law School in 2005. He worked as a criminal defence lawyer in the Greater Toronto Area before entering politics.

When Jagmeet became the NDP head and a rival of Trudeau for prime-ministership, he was feted as a Sikh with swag, a charismatic Sikh politician who wore bright turbans and sharp jackets, had social media savvy and was a vocal champion of the rights of people of colour and the LGBT community. His signature style of teaming colourful turbans with bespoke suits got him into the pages of fashion magazines such as GQ and he was called an "incredibly well-dressed rising star in Canadian politics".

Jagmeet's anti-India stance was not widely known then. Very few knew that Jagmeet was denied a visa in 2013 to visit India, apparently for his anti-India activities and his links to extremists. However, he said he was to visit Amritsar for an awards ceremony by two NGOs which had selected him for the Sikh of the Year Award. He had told TOI that the Indian government was apparently annoyed with him for "raising the voice of justice for victims of anti-Sikh riots of November 1984".

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