‘Deliberate mischief’: Canadian PM Justin Trudeau draws flak for referring to Diljit Dosanjh as ‘Punjabi singer’ | India News

NEW DELHI: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday found himself at the receiving end of criticism for referring to Diljit Dosanjh as a ‘Punjabi singer’ instead of an ‘Indian singer’ in a social media post.
BJP minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa took a jibe at the Canadian Prime Minister and accused Trudeau of engaging in “deliberate mischief through wordplay” by emphasizing Dosanjh’s Punjabi identity rather than his Indian nationality.
Sirsa responded to Trudeau’s comments, saying, “Let me correct this, Mr. Prime Minister—where one guy from INDIA can make history and sell out stadiums. Your gesture of lauding a fantastic artist like @diljitdosanjh has been totally overshadowed by your deliberate mischief through wordplay.”

Trudeau had praised Canada‘s diversity, saying, “Canada is a great country – one where a guy from Punjab can make history and sell out stadiums. Diversity isn’t just our strength. It’s a super power.”

His comments came after visiting Dosanjh before the singer’s historic concert at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.
Dosanjh, known for his popular songs such as “Lover,” “Proper Patola,” “GOAT,” and “Born to Shine,” is currently on his “Dil-Luminati Tour.” He made history as the first Punjabi artist to headline concerts in both of Canada’s major stadiums—Vancouver’s BC Place and Toronto’s Rogers Centre, which have seating capacities of over 54,000 and 49,000, respectively.
During Trudeau’s visit, Dosanjh shared a video of their meeting on his Instagram account, which has 21.7 million followers. The video showed Trudeau being welcomed by Dosanjh’s team with chants of “Justin” and Dosanjh’s trademark phrase, “Punjabi Aa gaye oye” (Punjabis are here).
Following his sold-out performance, Dosanjh shared photographs and videos capturing the excitement of his fans as they sang and danced with joy during his electrifying show.