THE World Sikh Organization of Canada (WSO) on Monday called on the Ontario Liberal Party to immediately withdraw Viresh Bansal as their candidate for Oshawa after the emergence of deeply offensive and hateful social media comments.
A post on X from Bansal stated, “You can thank India for cleaning trash people. Ask your gay friend @JustinTrudeau to do the same.”
The post was made in response to NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh’s statement on the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen and Sikh leader who was killed in a plot that has links to agents of the Government of India.
In another post in response to a post by Conservative Party Deputy Leader Tim Uppal expressing concern over the Indian government’s crackdown against Sikh activists in Punjab in March 2023, Bansal posted “It’s Indian internal matter. You better take care of your own. Dekhi kitten tere naal vi kutt khanni na hoje [watch out or you might get roughed up as well.]’’
WSO President Danish Singh said: “Bansal’s post is a disgusting endorsement of an extrajudicial killing by India and a homophobic attack on Canada’s Prime Minister. The fact that the Ontario Liberal campaign has not immediately and unequivocally condemned these remarks is unacceptable. There is no place in Canadian politics for candidates who celebrate state-sponsored killings and use hateful, homophobic rhetoric. Bansal has shown a pattern of anti-Sikh hate targeting Sikh politicians. Bansal’s words are not just offensive—they are dangerous and legitimize violence against minorities in Canada.
“The WSO calls on Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie to immediately withdraw Viresh Bansal’s candidacy and send a clear message that hateful rhetoric and endorsement of violence have no place in their party or in Ontario politics. Anything less is a failure of leadership.”
ON Tuesday, with mounting pressure on Crombie to drop Bansal as a candidate, Bansal suddenly did an about-face and issued an apology on X in an apparently desperate attempt to hang on to his candidacy.
He wrote: “I deeply regret the hurtful and thoughtless comments I posted on twitter in the heat of the moment. I want to sincerely apologize, especially to the Sikh and LGBTQ2S+ communities. My words were offensive and wrong, and I take full responsibility for the harm they caused. I want to express my sincere remorse to the Sikh Community, and also to my friends and family of the Sikh faith.
“Sikhs have long faced discrimination and violence, and my comments only added to that pain. That kind of language should never be used, anywhere, let alone in the context of a Canadian’s murder.
“I am deeply sorry for my words, and I am committed to learning from this. I will ensure that I never make this mistake again.
“I put my name forward as a candidate for the Ontario Liberals because I wanted to support my community, improve the economy, and improve public safety. I regret that my past words have distracted from this important work. I look forward to continuing to advocate for the people of Oshawa.”
