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Minister fires salvo at pizza-man
The toppled Canadian minister has threatened Harjit Singh with legal action unless he makes "a complete" apology, reports Gurmukh Singh.
The toppled Canadian immigration minister on Monday fired her first salvo at her accuser Indian pizza-man who faces deportation on February 2.
Judy Sgro, who resigned on January 14 after Toronto pizza-man Harjit Singh alleged that he supplied her June election campaign with free pizzas and workers after she promised to get him permanent residence, today threatened him with legal action unless he made "a full and complete'' apology within a week.
Singh, who has been ordered to be deported to India on February 2, is being held at a detention centre in Toronto. His plea for release before his deportation comes up for hearing on Tuesday. On Thursday, he appears in court to plead for emergency stay on his deportation.
The pizza-man, who came to Canada in 1988 on a visitor's visa, stayed back and sought refugee status on the false plea that he faced torture by Indian security agencies for his alleged links with terrorists.
Over the years, his application for permanent residence has been rejected five times on the grounds of forgery and perjury as he travelled to India on a false passport. Under Canadian law, a claimant for refugee status is not supposed to leave the country till his case is decided by immigration authorities.
He was also found to be involved in a human smuggling racket as more than 20 Indian passport s were seized from his residence during a police raid.
Singh and his two sons were also found guilty in a $1 million credit-card scam.
He was arrested in December after his application for permanent residence was rejected in November and he failed to appear personally before immigration authorities as required by law.
It was to ward off his deportation that he filed an affidavit accusing immigration minister Jusy Sgro of arresting him as she feared publicity for going back on her promise of permanent residence for him in exchange for free pizzas and workers during her election campaign.
In a statement in the federal capital of Ottawa, the toppled minister today said, "I have taken this action for one purpose only: to clear my name and to fight back against these lies."
Sgro also sought retraction of allegations by Singh's friend, Harminder Singh Brar, Brar's son Aman Deep, and Singh's daughter-in-law Harkamal Preet Virk, who have supported Singh's affidavit by saying that they were present when Sgro promised him to fix his immigration problem.
Calling their allegations defamatory, outrageous, unfounded, and completely untrue, Sgro said the proposed legal suit was the first step towards clearing her name.
"As a public figure, I understand that it is reasonable to expect some occasional personal criticism and complaints. However, I cannot allow outrageous accusations of the nature that have been levelled against me to be left unchallenged," she said.
Brar, who is a cabbie and stood a $30,000 surety for Singh, said last week that he and his son, Aman Deep, were with the pizza man when Sgro promised to take care of his immigration problems.
His 16-year-old son Aman Deep today said he was not lying about anything. Brar stands to lose his surety money when Singh is deported to India.
Singh's daughter-in-law Harkamal Preet Virk claims she drove Singh to meet Sgro and her aides.
What happens to Sgro's case if Singh is deported on February 2?
Sgro's chief aide Agop Evereklian said Singh's family would remain here and they would face the lawsuit.
Forty-nine-year-old Singh, who runs his pizza joint in the Brampton area of Toronto, is a widower. His wife died last year. All his three children are Canadian citizens.
A convert to Christianity, Singh is fighting a last-ditch battle to stave off the impending deportation, pleading he faces torture in India and he has no one to look after him there.
Political opponents of Sgro and human rights activists have demanded postponing Singh's deportation until his allegations against Sgro are probed.
The Montreal-based Human Rights Action Committee filed an application on Monday, seeking postponement of Singh's deportation.
Committee president Sanjiv Kumar said deportation of Singh could cause "loss of the material evidence witness" and let Sgro off the hook.
