Conservatives, supporters circle the wagons on Air India link to B.C. candidate link

tiffiant

Conservatives, supporters circle the wagons on Air India link to B.C. candidate



MSSISSAUGA, Ont. — Conservative leader Stephen Harper said Saturday that although his candidate in Vancouver South attended a public meeting with a man who has links to the Air India bombers, the Tories do not want his support in the election campaign.


However, when journalists pressed for further comment, supporters at a Tory rally drowned out the questions with ever-increasing waves of cheers — providing Harper cover from answering more questions on the issue.


His brief comments came after Ujjal Dosanjh, the incumbent in the riding of Vancouver South, filed a complaint with Elections Canada alleging that a publicly funded registered charity — the Khalsa School — held a parents' meeting April 6, urging those in attendance to vote against him.


Khalsa School founder Ripudaman Singh Malik, the man acquitted in the Air India bombing, spoke at the meeting. He endorsed Dosanjh's main rival, Conservative candidate Wai Young, the complaint states.


Furthermore, the complaint by Dosanjh alleges that Young attended the meeting and that both she and Malik "urged attendees to support her candidacy."


At a campaign event here, Harper provided a brief response to questions on the matter.


"She was invited to attend a school," he said.


"She attended in good faith. She has been very clear. She and her campaign have no links and do not welcome, in any way, Mr. Malik into this party. We are absolutely clear about that."


At that point, when a reporter began to ask if he believes that she did not know anything about Malik's past when she attended the meeting, the crowd erupted in applause and wouldn't let the question be posed. Harper stood amid the supporters, watched the crowd's intervention, and did nothing.


Among those who joined in with the crowd, through their cheers, to shut down the journalist's question was Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and local candidate Bob Dechert.

tiffiant

The revelation about Malik comes as a major embarrassment to Harper's Tories, who have a well-known tough-on-crime agenda and are also proponents of strict anti-terrorism policies.


The Tories issued a written statement Saturday morning.


"The Conservative party's zero tolerance approach to the promotion of terrorism extends to supporters of Khalistani extremism," it said.


"As Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said, the Air India terrorist attack was "an act of grotesque violence and malevolence. . . . This was evil, perpetrated by cowards, despicable, senseless and vicious."


The Conservatives said Malik "is not involved in the Conservative candidate in Vancouver South's campaign, nor that of any other Conservative party candidate."


Furthermore, they said Young was "unaware" of Malik's "background" and that the invitation to speak at the school was made by the principal, not by Malik.


"The Conservative Party of Canada as well as the Conservative candidate in Vancouver South reject any endorsement from individuals such as Ripudaman Singh Malik. We also reiterate our clear and unequivocal repudiation of those who would bring their violent, extreme, or hateful prejudices to Canada."


In the wake of the revelation, Dosanjh has said he was surprised that Young campaigned with Malik, who has admitted he has links to two people found responsible for the Air India bombing: Inderjit Singh Reyat and the late Talwinder Singh Parmar.


In 2005, Malik was found not guilty of all charges related to the 1985 bombings of two Air India flights that killed 331 people.


However, court documents show that he provided financial assistance to Reyat, who was found guilty in 2010 of committing perjury during the trial of Malik.


In 1991, Reyat was convicted of two counts of manslaughter for making the bomb that exploded in Tokyo, killing two baggage handlers. He served a 10-year sentence.


In a separate trial, Reyat was sentenced to five years for his role in constructing the bomb that brought down the Air India flight near the coast of Ireland.


Parmar, the alleged mastermind of the Air India bombing, was killed 15 years ago by Indian police.


[email protected]


Twitter.com/mark_kennedy_

tiffiant

Conservative leader Stephen Harper says that while his Vancouver South candidate, Wai Young, may have been at the same event as Sikh activist Ripudaman Singh Malik (pictured above) the party would not accept Malik's support!