Indo-Canadian MP, Who Was Critical Of Trudeau Govt Pandering To Khalistani Separatists, Ousted From Liberal Party

Ramesh Sangha, the Canadian MP from the Toronto area, has been thrown out of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party for criticizing fellow MP Navdeep Bains, who recently resigned as the country's industry minister, citing family reasons.

In a Punjabi TV interview last week after Bains resigned, Sangha accused the outgoing minister of harbouring extremist views and being pro-Khalistan. "Is he fit to be a minister?" the ousted MP said of the outgoing minister.

Following the accusation levelled by Singha, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's party threw out the Indo-Canadian MP on Monday (25 January). He represents the Brampton Centre constituency in Toronto suburbs.

"As soon as the Chief Government Whip was made aware of these accusations, he consulted with the Prime Minister, and the necessary steps were taken. As of this afternoon, Sangha has been removed from the Liberal caucus," said a party statement.

"As we have made clear time and time again, we will not tolerate conspiracy theories, or dangerous and unfounded rhetoric about Parliamentarians or other Canadians," the statement said.

A former Indian Air Force officer from Punjab, Ramesh Sangha had in 2019 accused his own party of pandering to Khalistani separatists and harming the relationship with India, forcing Prime Minister Trudeau to deny that his party supported the separatists.

Sangha had earlier in 2019 accused the Liberal government of "pandering" to Sikh separatists in a way that threatened to derail Canada's relationship with India.

"There is no doubt, there cannot be two opinions that the Liberal Party is pandering [to] Khalistan supporters," Sangha was quoted as saying in a 2019 National Post report.

Responding to Sangha's allegations, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, "Canada's position on a united India is unwavering and we are unanimous as a government on this issue". He, however, added that Canadians have the freedom to peacefully express their views.

Sangha, who was first elected in 2015, will now sit as an Independent MP in the House of Commons.

The two-time MP came to Canada from Punjab in 1994 and established himself as a lawyer before contesting federal elections in 2015.

(With inputs from IANS)