Chief Government Whip Mark Holland said that he consulted with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the issue and “the necessary steps were taken.”
On Monday, Member of Parliament from Canada’s Brampton Centre Ramesh Sangha was removed from the ruling Liberal Party caucus for allegedly making unsubstantiated accusations against his colleagues.
In a statement, Chief Government Whip Mark Holland stated that Sangha was removed for making “baseless and dangerous accusations against a number of his caucus colleagues.” Holland said: “As we have made clear time and time again, we will not tolerate conspiracy theories, or dangerous and unfounded rhetoric about Parliamentarians or other Canadians.” He also added that he consulted with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the issue and “the necessary steps were taken.” However, Holland did not mention the nature of the comments made by Sangha.
As per media reports, in an interview with Y Network last week, Sangha had attacked Liberal MP Navdeep Bains and Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, both of whom are Sikhs. While speaking on extremism in politics, Sangha said: “If you state you’re an extremist or a Khalistani, and we have seen this in America, are leaders with extremist ideas fit to be ministers. I have my doubts.” Last month, Bains stepped down from the federal cabinet citing family reasons. Sangha in the interview hinted that Bains might have resigned due to his extremist views.
According to a report in National Post in 2019, Sangha told a Punjabi-language radio channel 5AAB, “There is no doubt, there cannot be two opinions that the Liberal Party is pandering to Khalistan supporters.”
Holland’s statement also said: “Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for many Canadians to experience suspicions because of their background; we all know where this can lead. The Liberal caucus continues to stand firm against racism and intolerance.”
Sangha was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons in 2015 and re-elected in 2019. He will continue in parliament as an independent MP.
