Cabinet berth likely for Sikh MP in Canada ‘AMITABH DEFAULTED ON US SUMMONS’
Wednesday, 04/11/2015
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TORONTO: Sikh MP Navdeep Bains may get a berth in Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet, a media report said.
According to a report published in The Star newspaper on Monday, the prime minister has already chosen ministers for his cabinet and Bains, a Liberal MP from Mississauga city, may get a ministry.
“Memo to Liberal MPs: If you are still waiting for Justin Trudeau to call and offer you a cabinet post, you can stop the wait,” the report read, adding “Trudeau has already selected his new cabinet and made his telephone calls to the lucky incoming ministers several days ago.”
Since his win in the general elections on October 19, Bains has been representing MississaugaMalton constituency. Earlier, he served as an MP from 2004 to 2011.
He is a certified management accountant, holds an MBA degree and teaches at the Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario.
Bains played an important role in Trudeau’s leadership bid in 2013 and also served on the Liberals’ national election readiness committee.
He also served as a parliamentary secretary to the prime minister for a few months, and served as opposition critic for public works, treasury board, international trade, natural resources and small business and tourism.
Trudeau will be formally sworn-in as prime minister on Wednesday and will unveil his full cabinet on the same day.
The selection criteria of the MPs were: the size of the cabinet, gender equality, ethnic diversity, regional distribution and a balance of new and veteran MPs, but leaning to young and new versus old and experienced, the report said. The new cabinet is expected to have 28 members and will be evenly split, with 14 women and 14 men, including Trudeau. WASHINGTON: A New York-based Sikh advocacy group has claimed that Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan has failed to respond to summons issued by a US court on allegation of human rights violations in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and sought a verdict in absentia against him.
“We have asked the Hollywood federal court to issue a default judgment against Bachchan because he failed to respond within days after receiving summons as prescribed by the federal rules,” said attorney Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, legal adviser to Sikh For Justice (SFJ).
Other members of the core committee who attended the meeting were Lok Sabha MPs Ranjit Singh Brahmpura and Prem Singh Chandumajara, Rajya Sabha MPs Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and Balwinder Singh Bhunder, cabinet ministers Dr Daljeet Singh Cheema, Sikander Singh Maluka, Jathedar Tota Singh, Ajit Singh Kohar and Janmeja Singh Sekhon, former Vidhan Sabha speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon, former cabinet ministers Sewa Singh Sekhwan and Sucha Singh Langah, SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar and SAD leader Maheshinder Singh Grewal. Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee functionaries Manjit Singh GK, Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Avtar Singh Hit also attended the meeting.
