Indian civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri paid tributes to the victims of the 1985 terrorist bombing of Air India flight 182, the Kanishka, at a memorial in Toronto, and made a pointed reference to some elements in Canadian politics.
“Those who still waffle about the true nature of Kanishka bombing, need to introspect and unequivocally condemn this atrocity,” he told HT. He added such people were “doing a great disservice to memory of the victims...Let there be no doubt. This was a heinous act of terror.” That terrorist attack claimed 329 lives, the majority of whom were Canadian citizens or permanent residents.
These pointed remarks came even as the Federal campaign for the October 21 elections in the country is in progress. Puri met members of families of victims at the memorial in Humber Bay Park. “This remains one of the most dastardly and reprehensible acts of terror against humanity” and the “largest mass killing in Canadian history,” he added.
Puri is the first Indian minister to travel to Canada in nearly 16 months, a sign of the troubled relationship, between the two countries, particularly due to the Khalistan issue, something which New Delhi believes Ottawa has been soft on. Puri is scheduled to return to Delhi on the inaugural direct flight between Toronto and the capital, and connecting to Amritsar.
{{/usCountry}}Puri is the first Indian minister to travel to Canada in nearly 16 months, a sign of the troubled relationship, between the two countries, particularly due to the Khalistan issue, something which New Delhi believes Ottawa has been soft on. Puri is scheduled to return to Delhi on the inaugural direct flight between Toronto and the capital, and connecting to Amritsar.
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