The Liberal government of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has brought in its own version of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) to rescue Afghan Hindus and Sikhs from the war-torn nation of Afghanistan, lately ravaged by the Taliban. Trudeau government wants to resettle the said refugees, fleeing the crisis which sounds eerily similar to the CAA, brought in by the Narendra Modi government in 2019 to protect the minorities facing an existential threat in Pakistan.
News wire agency ANI quoted Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan as saying, “Canada has signed MOU with Manmeet Singh Bhullar Foundation to resettle a group of vulnerable Afghan Sikh &Hindu families out of Afghanistan. Over the next several months, we’ll expand this programme to resettle several hundred remaining Sikhs & Hindus”
Canada has signed MOU with Manmeet Singh Bhullar Foundation to resettle a group of vulnerable Afghan Sikh &Hindu families out of Afghanistan. Over next several months, we'll expand this programme to resettle several hundred remaining Sikhs & Hindus: Canadian Def Min Harjit Sajjan pic.twitter.com/CW0iHva0xf
— ANI (@ANI) August 13, 2021
Earlier, Marco Mendicino, the Canadian immigration minister remarked that the federal government will be taking in 20,000 vulnerable refugees from Afghanistan. He added that resettling the refugees was an extension of the programme and the focus will be on those who belong to groups vulnerable to persecution by the Taliban such as women leaders, human rights workers, and reporters.
Discriminatory pic.twitter.com/MFcU9AUHoM
— Shubhangi Sharma (@ItsShubhangi) August 14, 2021
In a nutshell, the Canadian government has brought in its own iteration of the CAA introduced in India by the Modi government. While the anti-national elements within the country protested against the new act, resulting in widespread riots, chaos, and flames of anarchy, they continued to receive backing from the left-liberal lobby. Moreover, the anti-CAA protestors also received tacit backing from the liberal regime of the Trudeau government.
Reportedly, Jagmeet Singh, a known Khalistan supporter and leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party had remarked that CAA should be scrapped.
Jagmeet had tweeted, “The Indian government’s new Citizenship Amendment Law purposely discriminates Muslims & other minority communities. It is wrong & should be denounced. At a time of rising hate & polarization, governments should work to unite people, not divide them. #CitizenshipAmendmentAct”
The Indian government's new Citizenship Amendment Law purposely discriminates Muslims & other minority communities. It is wrong & should be denounced.
At a time of rising hate & polarization, governments should work to unite people, not divide them.#CitizenshipAmendmentAct
— Jagmeet Singh (@theJagmeetSingh) December 25, 2019
It is imperative to note that Jagmeet is an essential part of the alliance that is holding Trudeau in power. Without his ‘kingmaker’ support, Trudeau would not have secured a second term, after failing to secure a majority in the general elections. Thus, he has actively allowed the Khalistani supporter to sow seeds of disharmony, sitting thousands of miles away from India.
The Citizenship Amendment Act of India seeks to grant citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists and Christians fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who came to India on or before December 31, 2014.
Thus, the provisions of the act are not much different from the aforementioned ‘programme’ introduced by the Canadian government. Albeit the Indian CAA is far more inclusive as apart from Sikhs and Hindus, it caters to Jains, Parsis, Buddhists and Christians — the other minorities who are under constant threat of persecution in Pakistan.
With Kandahar falling, Taliban is all set to gain control of the capital city Kabul as well. Once it becomes the lone power in the country, minorities will stand no chance to survive. Thus, the decision of the Canadian government to help the Hindus and Sikhs is laudable but it should stop preaching India when it tries to do good for the minorities stuck in the Islamic country of Pakistan facing persecution day in and out.
The entire incident has exposed the duplicity of the Trudeau government and how it is Jagmeet Singh that pulls the strings and makes the decisions.
