There is no question of compromising on issues related to terrorism, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told News18 in an exclusive interview on the plummeting relations between India and Canada over Ottawa’s allegations that New Delhi had a hand in the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
“Allegations are very different from evidence. I am sure the Ministry of External Affairs will deal with this. As far as I am concerned, there is no question of compromising on issues of terror. I have chaired the UN committee on terror. This business of going soft on some terrorists and not agreeing on the definition because one country’s terrorist is another country’s freedom fighter is very so and so (sic),” the Union Minister for Housing & Urban Affairs and Petroleum & Natural Gas said.
A former diplomat, Puri was Chairman of the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee during 2011-2013.
“There are people who are fugitives and in violation of our law. The government will deal with this properly. There will be people envious and jealous (of India), but India is capable of dealing with it. The fact that India acted as a unifier in a divided world and got the G20 Delhi declaration speaks volumes of the maturity of the leadership,” the minister said.
Puri added that Khalistani sentiment has no resonance on the ground in Punjab.
“I am very familiar with Punjab, fought an election there and I go there often. There is no concern on ground on Khalistan. Our people are also very mature. If anyone believes that outside forces with little bit of funding can create social divide here, their imagination is running riot.”
Canada and India expelled a senior diplomat each earlier this week after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged the involvement of “agents of the Indian government” in the killing of 45-year-old Nijjar, a prominent Sikh separatist leader, in Surrey in June. The claims were outrightly rejected by New Delhi as “absurd” and “motivated”.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, the chief of the banned Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) and one of India’s most-wanted terrorists who carried a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head, was shot dead by two unidentified gunmen outside a gurdwara in Surrey in the western Canadian province of British Columbia on June 18.
Nijjar was designated a ‘terrorist’ by India under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in July 2020 and his property in the country was attached by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in September 2020.
Interpol Red Corner Notice was also issued against him in 2016. The local police of Surrey had also put Nijjar under house arrest temporarily in 2018 on suspicion of his terror involvement but he was released later.
Bilateral ties between India and Canada have been tense in recent months. Trade talks have been derailed and Canada just cancelled trade talks.
In his interview to News18, Puri also lauded the Narendra Modi government’s recent decision to lower cylinder prices. “It was a farsighted and sensitive decision taken by the PM on Raksha Bandhan.”
He also criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on the Women’s Reservation Bill. “It is quite possible that Rahul Gandhi’s statements were written by the NGOs who have not read the Constitution. You brought the bill but couldn’t see it through. This is Modi government’s bill and not the Congress’s.”
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