Justin Trudeau’s praise for Diljit as ‘guy from Punjab’ earns rebuke from BJP

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday expressed stern disapproval to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s ‘projection’ of actor-singer Diljit Dosanjh as a ‘singer from Punjab’ and termed it a ‘deliberate mischief through wordplay’.

The rebuke came after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shared a video of him making a brief stopover at one of the concert venues and greeting the noted artiste rehearsing for his upcoming performance at Toronto’s famed Rogers Centre stadium.

Sharing a picture on his X handle, the Canadian PM wrote, “Stopped by Rogers Centre to wish Diljit Dosanjh good luck before his show.”

“Canada is a great country – one guy from Punjab can make history and sell out stadiums. Diversity isn’t just our strength. It’s a super-power,” he added.

BJP spokesperson Manjinder Singh Sirsa took exception to Trudeau’s words of praise for ‘Punjabi singer’ and sought to correct him by noting that it was a ‘guy from India’ who is creating history by holding sold-out stadium shows in Canada.

“Let me correct this, Mr Prime Minister. Your gesture of lauding a fantastic artiste like Diljit Dosanjh has been totally overshadowed by your deliberate mischief through wordplay,” Sirsa posted on X.

Notably, Diljit, who has been receiving lots of praise for his latest film ‘Jatt and Juliet 3’, held a sold-out show at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver recently.

Diljit kicked off his four-nation ‘Dil-Luminati’ concert with the Canada tour. The actor with exceptional singing skills will also be seen performing in India soon along with his troupe.

The condemnation by the BJP leader assumes significance as Canada had ‘preached’ India over freedom of expression during the farmers' protest but was itself seen dealing with its domestic protests with an iron hand.

Also, Trudeau’s attempt to emphasise on Punjab a year ahead of polls is seen as an attempt to woo the vast Sikh community residing in Canada.