Sikh-Canadian MPP (Member of Provincial Parliament) of Ontario has been denied a visa by India for his visit to Amritsar to attend a ceremony by two NGOs which selected him for “Sikh of the Year” Award.
He has also received an email from the Indian Consulate in Toronto confirming that he was being denied permission to travel to India.
Jagmeet Singh, a young lawyer representing the Bramalea-Gore-Malton constituency in Ontario, is one of dozens of Sikh-Canadians who have served, and now serve in the federal and provincial parliaments of Canada. However, he is the first Khalsa to be elected to the Ontario legislature and is oft hailed in the national and international press not only for his astute and progressive work as a legislator but also for his trendy, sartorial style which has attracted the attention of prestigious fashion magazines, journals and TV shows.
“The Indian government is apparently annoyed with me for strongly raising a voice for justice for the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh pogroms. I have also been pushing the issue that these were not ‘riots’ (as the Indian media slavishly labels them) between two communities, instead it was a state sponsored massacre,” Jagmeet Singh said.
“I had applied for a visa to attend the award ceremony on December 24, 2013 but have been told by the Indian embassy officials that the Ministry of Home Affairs of India did not clear my visit,” he added.
“As a human rights lawyer, I have been speaking out on the issue of human rights pertaining to all communities. I have maintained that the word ‘riot’ is a misnomer for what happened in November 1984. It insults India’s Hindus as many among them saved a number of lives of Sikhs during the pogroms. It was a Congress-sponsored mass killing,” he added.
Jagmeet Singh was recently instrumental in the passage of a law, which henceforth recognizes the month of April every year as Sikh Heritage Month in Ontario.
willsardar jagmeet singh help any 1984 riot victim if he reach canada