World

Have more Sikhs in my cabinet than Modi, says Canadian PM

Justin Trudeau has three Sikh ministers in his, while there are only two Sikh minister in Indian cabinet

News Desk March 12, 2016

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau kneels as he arrives at the Gurdwara Sahib Ottawa Sikh Society in Ottawa, Canada. PHOTO: REUTERS

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau proudly said on Saturday that he has more members of Sikh community in his cabinet than India’s Modi has.

Trudeau said this during an address at the American University when a Pakistani student from Punjab, Jahan, told the Canadian premier that how great it was to see so many Punjabis in his cabinet.

Responding to his comment, Tradeau said with a laughter that, “I have more Sikhs in my Cabinet than Modi does.”

India-born former soldier sworn in as Canada's new defence minister

The Canadian premier has three Sikh ministers in his cabinet, namely: Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities Amarjeet Sohi and Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. On the other hand, the Indian Prime Minister Narendar Modi has only two Sikh ministers in his government and that’s how Tradeau takes the lead in this case.

The Canadian prime minister is widely known for his acceptance towards all religion and is often seen doing Bhangras with Sikh community members and even have helped their women prepare ‘langar’ in the Gurdwara – the Sikh worship place.

Potentially Canada's next PM. Looks great in a Kurta! RT @JustinTrudeau Happy Diwali!At Gursikh Sabha…langar. pic.twitter.com/C7MXwkvKnE
— Rupa Subramanya (@rupasubramanya) November 4, 2013

The young prime minister and inspiration to many has also participated in Diwali celebrations of Hindu believers besides reciting a 'Gurbani' at the Gurdwara.

The article originally appeared in The Huffington Post

COMMENTS (7)

Ravi | 8 years ago | Reply @just_someone: great, we needed to hear this from a Pakistani! Look at your totally bigoted sunni wahhabi Islamic country, and try and fix it first before you pass judgement on others!

Mr Tolerant | 8 years ago | Reply Mr or Ms "Another Indian" or should I say Modi's Bakht, I am not sure why all of the India thinks speaking of Kashmir and issues like intolerance, discrimination and an inclusive society in INDIA is a sign of sedition and anti India sentiments. We need to get out of this craziness and embrace the fact that there is lot to be done in India, we have seen instances where media personnel just created hype of minor incidents to get higher TRPs, morphed speeches of JNU students were knowingly played 24/7 on various news channels, two of the biggest stars of Bollywood were unjustly persecuted by the media for just speaking their minds. Mr Bakht your "Kind" is the root of all evils of Indian society, on one end you pretend to be secularist and on the other you whine about Hindu inclusion in Canadian cabinet and praise the guy who is personally responsible of Killing thousands and persecuting of other minorities (no discrimination here, all non- Hindu minorities were and are equally persecuted by the Indian government in the disguise of RSS).

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An Ordinary Pakistani | 8 years ago | Reply Interesting news: “… a Pakistani student from Punjab, Jahan, told the Canadian premier that how great it was to see so many Punjabis in his cabinet.” A nice gesture, no doubt. I am, however, loath to say that this is also indicative of a growing tendency among many Pakistanis from this side of the border, including the current Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, to express greater affinity, even a feeling of kinship and brotherly love, for their cultural cousins across the border, than for their fellow Pakistanis from other provinces in Pakistan. By the same token, Nawaz Sharif's policies and the way he carries them out raise questions, such as, whether he considers himself the PM of Pakistan or, primarily and solely, of his home province? Something to think about. So much for promoting national solidarity and State building.

Bajrangi Bhaijaan Australia | 8 years ago | Reply Modi has more Muslims in his cabinet than Justin...Percentage of Indian Muslims is larger; same logic as more Sikhs in Canada hence representation is per population bases. So just because Justin has less representation from Muslims than Modi in his cabinet doesn't mean much...Does it?? Point is don't think too much on time wasting statistics just to make some garbage sense out of nothing.

Another Indian | 8 years ago | Reply @just_someone... Modi is a person who is strong-willed and a go-getter. He is very able and knows whats good for his country. That naturally leave you and your kind quite disturbed. Your kind needs to learn to see things above your religion. Remember, religions have killed way more people than it actually saved( I dont think they saved any). By the way how many Hindus does Justin have in his cabinet? Did you not note that or since there are 10 muslims in his cabinet, he is new your idol?

G. Din | 8 years ago | Reply While I am glad of his boast, it is a little bit disingenuous. Rationally, comparisons should be based on representation of Sikhs in the cabinet per percentage of Sikhs in each country's population. India's cabinet must reflect the diversity of its population which it eminently does.

just_someone | 8 years ago | Reply Modi serves as an example not to follow in almost all walks of life. I'm glad Justin is making Canada a more integrated place. Pick people on their abilities, not their color/religion/nationality...

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