Once TADA detainee, Sohi now a VIP guest

Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 7

Indian-born Canadian Minister of Infrastructure and Communities Amarjeet Sohi will lead a Canadian delegation at the upcoming Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit beginning January 10. 

Born in Punjab’s Sangrur, Sohi was arrested in 1988 under TADA. He was accused of being a terrorist with links to Khalistan movement. He was kept in prison in Gaya, Bihar, for 21 months, of which 18 were spent in solitary confinement. 

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Sohi is one of the four Sikhs in the Canadian Cabinet. When his story leaked via the press in India and was picked by Canadian press, pressure was reportedly put on India by both Amnesty International and Canadian intelligence who communicated to that Sohi posed no threat. 

Sohi arrives in the capital on January 9 as a VIP guest. During his stay here, he will travel to Mumbai and Ahmedabad. He would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani and would also speak at the event’s inaugural session and deliver a keynote address on ‘Smart and Liveable Cities: Opportunities and Challenges’.