He was a strong supporter of a movement banned in India called Khalistan, which calls for an independent Sikh homeland. “We have seen and reject the statement of the Canadian prime minister in their Parliament, as also the statement by their foreign minister,” the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Canada has also moved to expel a top Indian diplomat, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said. “This is an extremely perverse statement … On the basis of the available evidence, it falls flat,” Sahni told Arab News. “This is entirely defined by domestic politics, not by any objective evidence-based involvement of the Indian state,” Sahni said.