Atwal had visited India last year too

Jalandhar: Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC) has now taken a dig at Union government and its agencies for creating hype over invitation by Canadian high commissioner in India to Jaspal Atwal. The invitation, which was rescinded later, cast a shadow on Canadian PM Justin Trudeau’s visit last week. DSGMC chief Manjit Singh GK, who also heads Badals-led SAD’s Delhi unit, has confirmed that he met Atwal around six months back.What’s more, GK has also claimed that Atwal, during his trip at that time, also met “government agencies”.
GK made these comments after a picture of August 2017 of Atwal posing with him in his office in Delhi started being shared on social media. Confirming that picture was genuine and Atwal did come to his office, GK said that he was putting it on record that Atwal also met government agencies. He said that it was the Indian government which removed his name from the black list and granted him visa to visit India.
Atwal had also posted pictures of his visit to Delhi on August 25, 2017. In one picture he is posing outside a government building and in another India Gate can be seen in the backdrop. He even mentioned in his post that he visited the Union finance ministry and the ministry of external affairs and also expressed his love for India. “Thanks India and I love my India,” he wrote.
“I appreciate the approach of the Union government of opening channels with Sikhs in Canada and in other countries but the way governments — both the Centre and Punjab — and their agencies have operated is baffling. It was good to review the blacklist of Sikhs but then why these fellows are being vilified once again. When they are returning to the main stream they should not be used for agendas, GK said.
“The Congress did all the wrongs with the Sikhs and vilified the community and now the government and its agencies should be careful. It is clear that Atwal episode has been used to ruin Trudeau’s visit,” he added.
GK even alleged that “agencies” and media complimented each other in running the campaign against Trudeau and painting the Sikhs with a single brush. “Atwal did something several years back and served sentence. He is a good citizen there and doing his business. But if he can still be called terrorist then why same words not be used for Sanjay Dutt or Pholan Devi. Those once called terrorists are ministers in BJP-PDP government. When there is time to give something to Sikhs, a campaign to paint them with black brush starts,” he said.
He also pointed out that Khalistanis were not even winning SGPC or DSGMC elections but government agencies were creating hype around them.
‘Confirms other reports’
Manjit Singh GK blaming governments and agencies for controversy around Jaspal Atwal, which created a lot of negative propaganda for Canadain PM back home also, is in sync with what Canadian media has suggested citing Canadian government officials. These reports had claimed that Atwal had already developed “close links” to Indian diplomatic officials and insinuated that ‘certain people’ within “Indian government” were behind this episode which embarrassed the Canadian PM.