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Canada provincial election: Indo-Canadian candidate suspended over offensive social media posts
Viresh Bansal was a candidate for the riding (as constituencies are called in Canada) of Oshawa. On Tuesday, he had issued a public apology for the comments made in X and Facebook posts in 2023
Toronto: An Indo-Canadian candidate running in the Ontario election has been suspended by Canada’s Liberal Party after offensive social media posts attributed to him came to light.
The suspension was announced by the party on Friday, according to the agency Canadian Press. Viresh Bansal was a candidate for the riding (as constituencies are called in Canada) of Oshawa. On Tuesday, he had issued a public apology for the comments made in X and Facebook posts in 2023.
Those posts related to the killing of pro-Khalistan figure Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, 2023, and a homophobic slur against Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
In the apology, posted on X, Bansal said, “I deeply regret the hurtful and thoughtless comments I posted on Twitter in the heat of the moment. I want to sincerely apologise, especially to the Sikh and LGBTQ2S+ communities. My words were offensive and wrong, and I take full responsibility for the harm they caused. I want to express my sincere remorse to the Sikh community, and also to my friends and family of the Sikh faith.”
He added, “Sikhs have long faced discrimination and violence, and my comments only added to that pain. That kind of language should never be used, anywhere, let alone in the context of a Canadian’s murder. I am deeply sorry for my words, and I am committed to learning from this. I will ensure that I never make this mistake again.”
Bonnie Crombie, leader of the provincial Liberal Party had condemned the posts, saying, “I understand that people can post some really terrible things on their social media. But I want to say that I condemn those statements, I don’t stand for them, they don’t reflect who I am. I don’t think they reflect the values of the Ontario Liberal party,” according to the outlet CityNews.
The posts included a response to New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh accusing India of involvement in Nijjar’s killing, said, “You can thank India for cleaning trash people.”
It added, “Ask your gay friend @JustinTrudeau to do the same.”
Singh’s post came on September 18, 2023, after Trudeau’s statement in the House of Commons that there were “credible allegations” of a potential link between Indian agents and Nijjar’s murder.
In a reply to a post from Conservative Party MP Tim Uppal, a handle believed to be that belonging to Bansal, said, “It’s Indian internal matter. You better take care of your own. Dekhi kitten tere naal vi kutt khanni na hoje (be careful or something may happen to you).”
Uppal’s post on March 18, 2023, had referred to actions taken in India against the movement of Amritpal Singh, leader of Waris Punjab De, which subsequently led to his arrest and incarceration.
The emergence of these posts led to demands for Bansal’s candidature to be cancelled by the provincial Liberal Party. No such announcement has been made as yet.
The race in the riding is primarily between sitting member of the provincial parliament (MPP) Jennifer French of the NDP, and the ruling Conservative Party’s Jerry Ouellette.
The ruling Conservatives have called snap elections, which will be held on February 27. They are expected to comfortably retain power with recent polling showing them leading the Liberals by a dozen points or more.
