AMN / NEW DELHI
India says it is ascertaining details as to how convicted Khalistani terrorist Jaspal Atwal got a visa to enter India.
A controversy had erupted after Canadian High Commissioner Nadir Patel invited Atwal for a dinner which he was hosting for the visiting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his delegation tonight.
Replying to a media query in New Delhi, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the invitation for the reception to Atwal tonight has already been withdrawn by the Canadian side.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau Thursday said the matter of invitation extended to Khalistani terrorist Jaspal Atwal for a dinner hosted by Canadian High Commissioner is being taken extremely seriously.
Speaking to media on the sidelines of an event in New Delhi, Mr Trudeau said, the administration has rescinded Atwal’s invitation for dinner reception. He said, the Member of Parliament who gave the invitation will be taking full responsibility for his actions. The Prime Minister said, the invitation should not have been sent to Atwal.
The Prime Minister’s Office in Canada categorically stated that Atwal was not part of the official Canadian delegation and was in India in his private capacity.
Atwal, a member of the banned International Sikh Youth Federation was sentenced to 20 years in prison for trying to kill the then Punjab cabinet minister Malkiat Singh Sidhu on Vancouver Island in 1986