‘Intentional harm’: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau comes under fire for calling Diljit Dosanjh a ‘Punjabi singer’ | News from India

NEW DELHI: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faced severe criticism on Monday for calling Diljit Dosanjh a “Punjabi singer” instead of an “Indian singer” in a social media post.

BJP minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa mocked the Canadian prime minister, accusing Trudeau of “deliberately creating mischief through wordplay” by emphasising Dosanjh’s Punjabi identity rather than his Indian nationality.

Sirsa responded to Trudeau’s comments by saying: “Let me get this right, Mr Prime Minister – a man from India can make history and fill stadiums. Your gesture of praising a fantastic artist like @diljitdosanjh has been completely overshadowed by your deliberate puns.”

Trudeau had praised Canada’s diversity, saying: “Canada is a great country – one where a man from Punjab can make history and fill stadiums. Diversity is not just our strength. It is a superpower.”


His comments came after he visited Dosanjh ahead of the singer’s historic concert at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

Dosanjh, known for his popular songs like ‘Lover’, ‘Proper Patola’, ‘GOAT’ and ‘Born to Shine’, is currently on his ‘Dil-Luminati Tour’. He made history as the first Punjabi artist to headline concerts at Canada’s two major stadiums – BC Place in Vancouver and Rogers Centre in Toronto, which have a seating capacity of over 54,000 and 49,000 respectively.

During Trudeau’s visit, Dosanjh posted a video of their meeting on his Instagram account, which has 21.7 million followers. The video shows Trudeau being greeted by Dosanjh’s team with shouts of “Justin” and Dosanjh’s trademark “Punjabi Aa gaye oye” (Punjabis are here).

Following his sold-out performance, Dosanjh shared photos and videos capturing the excitement of his fans as they sang and danced with joy during his electrifying show.