Canadian minister’s cousin celebrates in Hoshiarpur

Sanjiv Kumar Bakshi

Hoshiarpur, November 6

Though the ancestral house of the newly appointed Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Singh Sajjan in Bambeli village of Mahilput block of the district was locked, the neighbouring house of his cousin Jasbir Singh Lambardar was abuzz with some visitors who had come to congratulate him.

Harjit Singh Sajjan was elected MP in the riding of Vancouver South getting 48.8 per cent of the votes. Son of former Punjab Police head constable Kundan Singh Sajjan, Lt Col Harjit Singh Sajjan was the first Sikh in Canada to take command of British Columbia regiment. He was a police officer for 11 years with the Vancouver Police Department.

His cousin Lambardar Jasbir Singh, while offering “ladoos” to visitors, shared his memories of Harjit from the school days. His family had left for Canada in 1973.